True Grit

This past weekend, I was able to catch the movie “True Grit” on Netflix streaming (one of the few decent new movies available on Netflix streaming I might add, but that’s a rant for another day) with my soon-to-be teenaged daughter.  At our suggestion, she had started reading the Charles Portis book on her Kindle last summer, and understandably got a bit hung up with it’s almost Shakespearean dialogue and prose. With a rare Saturday afternoon free of sports and activities, I thought it would be a great chance for some father/daughter bonding over this wonderful and inspiring story.

In case you have neither read the book nor seen the movie, the story is about a 14 year old girl, Mattie, who sets out on her own to capture her father’s killer (who has fled into the Indian territory) and bring him to justice.  She hires a hard drinking U.S. Marshall, whom she has been told has the “true grit” to get the job done despite his obvious weaknesses, to assist in her quest.  Additionally, they are joined in their hunt by an egotistical Texas Ranger who has been chasing the same man for months in order to capture a handsome reward for crimes he committed in Texas.

I won’t get into more plot details here, but let’s just say that along the way, it becomes pretty clear who the person in the story with the “true grit” really is.  And when I think about qualities I respect most in colleagues, partners, teammates or leaders, I find myself coming back to “true grit” as being one I hold in high regard.

What does it mean to have “true grit” in business? I look at it as being comprised of these characteristics:

1. Single-mindedness. People with “true grit” set goals and pursue them relentlessly (much like the honey badger), no matter what the conditions or obstacles may be. This requires discipline, focus, a certain fearless nature, and an ability to ignore the distractions that may hinder you from getting what you want.
2. Adaptability.  You can set a path to achieve a goal, but you will inevitably find that conditions will change along your journey that require you adapt and re-think that path. If you have “true grit”, you deal with ambiguity, uncertainty, and possible setbacks to correct your course so that you and your team stays on task.
3. Idealism.  People I have come across throughout my career that I would associate with having “true grit” are the ones that have an uncanny ability to suspend conventional wisdom or belief and accomplish their goals, regardless of what others may think as being possible. Can you be the first salesperson to close a seven figure deal when the average deal size at your firm is five? Can you be the product development team that delivers a new innovation in half the time you think it can be done with half the resources?  People with “true grit” take on these types of challenges, ignore the naysayers, and make them happen.

Interestingly, people I know that possess these characteristics tend not to be the most widely liked or politically savvy in organizations. They are not warm and fuzzy — but something that is “gritty” isn’t supposed be now, is it?  But if you want to have “true grit” in business, you are okay with that, because ultimately you and your teammates know that the job will get done the way it is supposed to get done, no matter what. In the end, the people on the team that we view has having “true grit” may not necessarily end up with the title of “leader” or even be the most talented, but are known and respected as the heart of the team — and that makes them invaluable.

So when the movie ended, I asked my daughter what she thought of the story.  Did she understand the message it was trying to portray? Without looking up from the intense gaze she had upon her iTouch, she replied with an eyeroll, “Sure Dad, if someone killed you, I’d totally go hunt them down in the wilderness to avenge your death or whatever. Or I’d, like, pay someone to do it.”  Nice.