Wile E. Coyote has issues catching the Roadrunner.
In fact, one could say that Wile E. Coyote has a serious tendency to self-destruct in the course of his ill-fated efforts to catch the Roadrunner. And it’s not for lack of equipment. Wile E. always seems to get his hands on the coolest ACME brand rockets, roller skates, and anthropomorphic-coyote-sized-sling-shots.
Despite all the awesome gear he has, Wile E. Coyote just plain stinks at catching that bird.
But failures are often more instructive than successes, and that means that Wile E. Coyote can teach us a whole heck of a lot.
1. When times are tough, a positive attitude is a must
If at first you don’t succeed, you aren’t Chuck Norris.
If you fail again and again and again, you’re probably taking a page out of Wile E. Coyote’s book. But as much as he is to be faulted for his failures, Wile deserves a lot of credit for his attitude. Every time he sets about his task, he’s certain that he’s going to succeed. He never allows a negative attitude to stand between him and a full-fledged effort at catching the Roadrunner. He is the eternal optimist. (Though you might be, too, if you withstand countless explosions and falls from tall cliffs.)
Business often feels like you’re chasing the Roadrunner. Sometimes there’s that last task you just can’t get finished. Sometimes the ground just falls out from under your feet. Sometimes you just want to say [beep] [beep]. But you can’t let that down. Wile E. Coyote wouldn’t be fun to watch if he were always griping about his failures. It wouldn’t be fun to be around him. So, no matter how hard the hits keep coming, if you can keep a good attitude about it, you’re much more likely to be tolerated by the people around you – whether they’re your employees or your bosses.
2. Reasonable goals are important
No matter how great your drive, your spirit, and your ability, you will never be able to jump from Manhattan to Hollywood in a single bound. You probably couldn’t even make it to Jersey.
In business, as in life, goals and ambition are important. They give you something to aim for, something to motivate yourself toward, and a way to measure it. But it’s just as important that you’re setting achievable goals as it is that you’re setting goals in the first place. If you’re shooting too high, you’d just as well be banging your head against a wall.
And this is the problem that Wile E. Coyote has. His goal of catching the Roadrunner (and presumably devouring it, post haste), is out of his league. The bird is too fast, too wily, and just too darned likable to become coyote food. So, no matter how hard the coyote is trying to catch the Roadrunner, the fact is that he should be setting his sights elsewhere.
3. Awesome gear will only get you part of the way.
You have to imagine that the Acme account executive responsible for Wile E. Coyote lives a very comfortable life. The guy has gotten his hands on more sophisticated ballistic equipment than most developing nations will ever have, and that kind of stuff has to cost a pretty penny.
While his account exec. may be living the high life, Wile E. Coyote is pretty much constantly in pain. If he isn’t exploding, he’s falling off of a cliff. And maybe it would all be worth it if he could just catch the bird. But we all know that’s not going to happen.
And the real world is just the same way. It doesn’t matter how good your computers, ingredients, tools, or machines are if you don’t have competent people backing them up. A great team can overcome extraordinary odds with only the most rudimentary of tools. (We got a man to the moon on a spacecraft that had less computing power than my cell phone.)
Smart organizations spend time looking for people who can do the job regardless of the tools they’re given. Great potential employees take the time and energy to show employers that they can do a great job, regardless of the circumstances.