I’ve been told the Chinese ideogram (or word, if you prefer) for crisis is made up of the symbols Danger and Opportunity. This is similar to the old saying “there’s a silver lining in every cloud’.
This didn’t really ‘click’ with me until I realized this is an algebra equation. Here’s what I mean: if Crisis = Danger + Opportunity…
…Then wouldn’t Danger = Crisis – Opportunity?
In other words, if there was no opportunity in a crisis, that would be dangerous, right?
Then what is Opportunity? A crisis without danger. (Opportunity = Crisis – Danger).
Think of that… how many times have you heard this story… something in the news about some major crisis and then someone was ‘smart enough’ to profit from the situation? They were able to look at the situation objectively and determine a way to minimize the risk to themselves and for others.
Why wasn’t that you? Probably because you weren’t alert to look for the way to minimize (or eliminate) the danger to create an opportunity.
I first realized the power of this formula when I read a book about George Soros, the international financier. One of the themes throughout his book was his approach to situations. He always looked for the opportunity by minimizing the danger. For example, he watched as international banks loaned money to many countries in South America. The ‘fatal flaw’ he saw was these banks were crediting the cash from other banks in those countries’ ‘ability to pay’ calculations, and loaning more money. This was a danger for the banks. How did he find the opportunity? By betting against the stock values of those banks by using a ‘put’ stock option strategy. Imagine if someone was obligated to pay you for a stock that went down in value. This is a stock market instrument that allows George (and you) the right to ‘put’ the stock to someone at an agreed upon price, even if that price is lower than expected. When their stock price went down, he made an incredible profit. If you want more info on stock option strategies, check out Wade Cook’s books, they’re a plain talk explanation on how to use them.
Another example from one of my clients – They have to shut off the air conditioning and inconvenience the homeowner for 2 to 4 hours while they clean their ducts (Danger). Instead I had them create an opportunity by partnering with local merchants – nail salons, hair dressers, spas, etc. and they create a pamper package. Now when the homeowner returns my client has cleaned their ducts and returned the air climate to a comfortable temperature and the client has been on a pampering expedition. Meanwhile some lucky local merchants have the benefit of potentially getting a new client from a great referral source.
Practical exercise: Think of a current crisis situation in your business, personal or work life. What is the danger? What is the opportunity? How can you minimize the danger and take advantage of the opportunity? By asking these questions of yourself, you’ll make things work when others only see a crisis.
Perhaps for example your company is receiving negative press on the Internet for your customer service policies. Is there an opportunity to change your customer service approach and create a unique niche for your company? Target stores did this (though it didn’t take negative press to do it). If Target sells it (or sold it) they’ll take your return even without a receipt.
