Home > Articles > Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles

Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles

Obstacles are defined as anything that impedes your progress toward your vision.

Henry Ford said, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

Leonardo De Vinci said,“Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.”

It is on your mission path, between your purpose and vision, that you battle obstacles. Throughout history, we can reflect on great battle plans and learn from them; in fact, part of West Point’s curriculum focuses on the strategy of great victories that overcame great obstacles. Many of the heroes throughout the ages that we admire are those who achieved victory against great obstacles and realized their vision. All had vision, purpose and mission, becoming heroes by overcoming obstacles. “The Miracle” 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team, Hannibel, Frodo and Sam, and Notre Dame’s Rudy.

(Related: The Three Parts of Mission: Message, Method and Motive)

Your obstacles can overwhelm you, or you can overcome your obstacles.

There are four responses you experience when you are confronted with an obstacle. Two of them lead to defeat. One possibly leads to victory. And one of them is surely the best choice to make to overcome the obstacle.

1. You can simply give up.
   Conclude it is too much for to tackle. Doubt your ability to win. This response typically reveals a lack of courage and resolve, which are both key characteristics for leadership.




2. You’re paralyzed by the obstacle.
   Even if you keep your eye on the vision but stand still, you lose.




3. You can change course because of the obstacle.
   This is sometimes required in order to realize forward progress toward our vision. Other times it may just be the path of least resistance.




• Here you need to add something to courage and resolve – wisdom. It takes wisdom to make the right choice with the right attitude. While Napoleon had courage and resolve, he made a foolish decision at Waterloo. At best, obstacles can sometimes cause us to settle for good. Good is the enemy of BEST. Make sure you are using wisdom if you choose to change course.

4. The fourth response is to craft a goal to overcome and eliminate the obstacle.
   This is the power of the plan. Once you know your vision, purpose and mission, it allows you to define your obstacle. It is understanding your obstacles that allows you to create an effective plan.

The key to overcoming obstacles is found in organizing obstacles.

The criterion for this process is to detail every obstacle, placing them in common categories. Remember: Details determine destiny. Depending upon the organization, there are different combinations of obstacles to organize.

Here are some examples:

• The first will always be character obstacles.
  Evaluate and strengthen the areas of your character that can destroy your success.




• There will be financial obstacles.
  Acquire the money to underwrite what needs to be done.




• There will be informational obstacles.
  Acquire the knowledge, understanding and wisdom about what needs to be done.




• There will be people obstacles.
  Learn from those who support your vision and discount those who don’t—the naysayers.




• There will be educational obstacles.
  Continue to learn all that is needed in order to compete at any level.

Make sure to arrange all your obstacles into detailed, common categories. Next, put them into priority according to a timeline when each one needs to be resolved. Obviously, there are overlaps and similar priorities, but the plan has become to prepare you for focused goals.

Sometimes, your company may not have the time or experience to develop the plans to overcome obstacles. Fortunately, experienced interim executives are well equipped to move through this process. Why is that? Simply, interim executives bring a vault of experience and, of course, a high degree of objectivity. They have dealt successfully with the issues at hand many times before and are able to respond with solid decision-making. In fact, according to research from Corporate Insights Limited, interim executives achieve goals 20 times faster than permanent senior managers.

One of the Corporate Insights Limited managers familiar with the study wrote, “For most permanent appointments, senior or board level executives had the first 100 days to manage their transition and prepare for action – typically, interim managers and executives do it in five days! An interim executive – who has joined a business at perhaps as little as a week’s notice – will learn 90% of what he needs to know in his first day on the job. By the end of the first week that interim would have learned 99% of what he or she needs to know.” In closing, use the interim executive to help you remove your company obstacles. They’ll do so quickly and efficiently.

To learn about how interim executives can help your company, click here.

How do you handle obstacles? Is it a similar process or different? Please share with us by commenting below.

Home