Greek Wisdom for Good and Bad Times in Your Business.
The following is adapted from What is Wisdom? by Kayvan Kian.
If you’ve been pursuing your dreams for a while, you know that life is filled with both highs and lows: times that are prosperous and times that are tough. On both sides of the coin, it can be tempting to respond in an excessive way. When times are good, we may be tempted to take it easy and stop doing the things that led to our success. In bad times, when things look hopeless, we may be tempted to despair or give up entirely. Both reactions are understandable but carry significant risk.
To best deal with the good and bad times that will inevitably come our way, we can look to the wisdom of Cleobulus, who was a Greek poet in the sixth and seventh centuries. He was also counted as one of the Sages of Greece, or Seven Wise Men.
Like many of the pre-Socratic philosophers, much of Cleobulus’s work is lost to us. However, this quote has survived and endures to this day: “Do not be arrogant in prosperity. If you fall into poverty, do not humble yourself; know how to bear the changes of fortune with nobility.”
To see how we can apply the lessons of this quote in practice, let’s look at contrasting scenarios you may face.
Being Swept Away by Circumstances
There are times when, for instance, a company catches lightning in a bottle: demand goes through the roof, bringing in mountains of new revenue and causing unprecedented levels of growth. To use a phrase from the startup world, it’s the “hockey stick” model of growth. After tinkering and skating by for several years, a young company hits an inflection point and sees surging growth.
Conversely, many companies fail to hit this point after many years of effort. Promises haven’t been fulfilled. Perhaps there’s a problem with production that’s delayed the product and evaporated customer interest, or the orders haven’t been coming in despite customers saying they were excited. Whatever the case, there’s no hockey stick. Growth is flat.
As different as these situations seem, leaders on both sides may feel an urge to be carried away by external circumstances, and their actions may reflect it.
Instead of figuring out what it is that’s working so well and building further on that, leaders of the successful company might indulge by spending extravagantly, making reckless moves, or treating people with a certain disregard. In their mind, the good times won’t stop rolling, so what does it matter how much they spend or how they act?
Meanwhile, instead of learning from their mistakes, trying something new, or finding a way to minimize current losses, the ones leading the struggling company might let go or give up. They might assume their misfortunes are permanent, lose their inner strength, will, and courage, and adopt the self-fulfilling mantra: Who cares if I take any action? It won’t matter anyway.
Living without Illusions
When we get carried away by external circumstances, we can make dangerous mistakes. One such mistake is assuming our actions carry no significant consequences. This of course is not true. Even without the consideration of external results, our actions shape who we are and who we become, in both prosperous and hard times. Our external circumstances don’t define us, but how we respond to those circumstances — which is within our control — does define our character.
Another mistake is underestimating the role of luck, especially when we’re experiencing success. When everything you do turns to gold, you may lose touch with the complexities of reality. It might be tempting to claim these results as the fruit of your own genius and hard work and consider them confirmation of your otherworldly talents. Astronomical profits or a successful project can make it inconceivable that things might turn out differently next year, let alone tomorrow.
As Cleobulus shows us, there is no guarantee that things will continue the same as they are today, which should offer hope to the hopeless and a word of caution to those who rest on their laurels.
This word of caution, of course, isn’t meant to create worry or anxiety. It is meant to prevent unnecessary and irreversible mistakes. It is meant to make sure you’re not surprised when you’re sent back to the drawing board of life. It is meant to encourage you to cultivate things that no one can ever take away from you: your will, creativity, unique strengths, clarity of thought, and more. As the philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius said, “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”
Looking Back from the Future
Look at your life today. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today. Which parts are going well? Which parts are not? How are things at work? How are your relationships with family and friends? How are your childhood dreams? Which things are going well that you might be taking for granted? Which things might you be giving up on? Which area of your life would be helped most by Cleobulus’s thinking?
What would you tell yourself if you were to come back to this day decades from now? Are you meeting with that potential investor or canceling because you don’t think it will matter? Are you setting aside something for the future or spending it all as if you’ll never run out?
Cleobulus teaches us not to trust both good and bad times. He shows us that if we trust ourselves instead, we may “bear the changes of fortune with nobility.”
To read more pieces of wisdom, What is Wisdom? is available on Amazon.
Kayvan Kian is an entrepreneur, teacher, and senior advisor to McKinsey & Company in Amsterdam, whose work has helped thousands of leaders and teams thrive during difficult times.
As the founder of the Young Leaders Forum, Kayvan has given guest lectures at Harvard Business School, HEC, Sciences Po, and more. His first book, What Is Water?: How Young Leaders Can Thrive in an Uncertain World, became an instant bestseller. He holds an MBA from INSEAD in France and a degree in both economics and law from the Erasmus University in the Netherlands.
