Running a Small Business Takes Resilience and Tenacity

Our family watched the movie Apollo 13 this weekend, a story about getting three astronauts home after their spacecraft is damaged nine minutes into the mission. To us, the hero of the story is Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly, who was scrubbed from the mission because he was potentially exposed to German measles.

He was understandably dejected and angry to miss the mission. He was then called upon to invent a re-entry procedure in the damaged spacecraft. He went from self-pity to the simulator in an instant. He was instrumental in bringing his colleagues home safely.

We admire his resilience and tenacity. We admire his ability to focus and analyze.

Small businesses experience constant mishaps, setbacks and crises. Surviving takes resilience and flexibility. So when your business explodes 9 minutes into the mission, take a deep breath, take stock of your assets, and figure a new path forward.