The dictionary defines perseverance as “steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement”.
“Doggedness” often disguises itself as perseverance.When a course of action is doggedly pursued in spite of a negative result with the hope that if the same action is repeated enough times a positive result will occur; that is not perseverance that is stupidity.
I should know I’ve caught myself being stupid on several occasions.
One fairly recent occasion was the collapse of the financial and commercial real estate markets in 2008. The products I produced and marketed were retail shop space and building pads in shopping centers located in growing suburban communities.
With the collapse, the banks stopped lending; housing plummeted taking with it the primary source of small business funding, home equity loans. Without the ability to borrow money my customers (tenants) could not lease my space and the tenants already in place could not pay their bills.
Having been through several downturns I thought all I had to do was persevere and things would get back to normal. I confused perseverance with doggedness.
So I poured money into marketing, cut expenses and redoubled my efforts, doggedly offering my customers, the same product and in the same ways that had been successful in the past.
I knew that if I hung in there long enough things would get back to “normal”.
It took two years of beating my head on the wall to finally realize that there was a new “normal” and I either changed and adapted to the new normal or there would be no business.
I have seen my customers (tenants) going through the same process. They doggedly open their doors everyday hoping that if they just persist long enough the old ways of doing business will succeed.
It is amazing how hard a person will fight to keep from trying something new.
So what is the point?
Persevering in business is all about trying, failing, trying something new, adapting, innovating and changing.
Love to have your comments.
Posted by Gary Simning 
