If “A Rising Tide Carries All Boats...”

The last 2 ½ years have been very interesting compared to the prior 2 ½ (or more), haven’t they?

COVID times were a mixed economy depending on where you were living (pretty darned good here in Georgia, but other places didn’t fare as well) and what business you were in (for example, it was decent for essential services, but not so great for the hospitality industry).

We then went from dealing with COVID to rapidly increasing demand and an improved economy that had to deal with labor and supply chain issues.

And now, inflation, and possibly a recession.

You have probably heard the phrase, “A rising tide carries all boats.” It’s commonly inferred to mean that, “When things are good, they’re good for everyone.” Politics aside, it was difficult to argue that in the couple of years prior to COVID, that was true for the economy as a whole...particularly when we experienced what happened to the economy during COVID, and more recently it’s turbulent recovery (of sorts).

The other day, I was on a coaching call and my client used the phrase, “A rising tide carries all boats,” as a lead-in to describe something quite different from the traditional interpretation of “Everyone is doing well.”

The last couple of years had been quite successful for my client and his company, but he sensed things were slowing down — it had become more challenging trying to price and win potential new projects. He used the phrase to describe the sense of complacency that he felt his leadership/management team were displaying towards the pursuit of new business based on their past success.

So, what is the right imagery when the tide stops rising (or at least seems to be slowing down or turning)?

The phrase that I have used for a long time as the converse of Rising Tide (no doubt that came from my days in the Navy) is, “A receding tide reveals the rocks and the wrecks and demands better seamanship from the skipper and crew.”

As a professional coach, I know there are a range of strategies to use in the face of complacency and increasing market pressures.

Strategies (and expressions) that I like to use:

1. As a leader, raising your level of consciousness in decision making, as opposed to the habitual behavior that we ALL prefer as human beings, is a first step (if you want to better understand that statement, pick up “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman).

2. Another one of those tried-and-true phrases: “What’s inspected is respected.” Ask your team the type of tough questions that will move them to conscious decision making (and out of their habitual behaviors).

3. Many years ago, my flight instructors would often say, “Keep your head on a swivel.” At the time, they meant it literally, as it related to Situational Awareness while flying. Figuratively speaking, it is about acute awareness of your business environment, and your readiness to take advantage of the opportunities that uncertain times always bring to those ready to act.

My client had already started asking better questions of himself and his team.

My tactical guidance to him:

1. Become granular and consistent in reviewing his team’s progress on new business opportunities. Have a plan for each opportunity and ensure the plan is being worked — “Plan your work and work your plan.”

2. I reviewed with him the system of Green/Yellow/Red reporting of plan progress, and recommended that he include it in his weekly review meetings with his project managers and operations teams (this is what Alan Mulally was known for at Ford Motor Company, and it facilitated his turnaround of the company).

We know that complacency is not a place to be in an increasingly muddled economy, particularly as it seems to be sliding towards more of a recession than any of us would like to admit.

What will you do to improve your seamanship should the tide recede?