Perhaps one of the least acknowledged, and yet most critical, factors contributing to one’s ‘success’, is luck.
All too often, people will credit their achievements solely to their personal skill and brilliance, hard work, and hustle.
They will rarely mention the role that luck played, and even more rarely (respectfully) give thanks to it.
Perhaps they feel that by doing so they will in some way diminish what they have accomplished. In my mind, nothing could be further from the truth.
I got to thinking of this recently whilst watching an episode of ‘Black As’ (which you should binge on, if you haven’t already). As the ABC’s blurb for the show says, in each episode you get to ‘go bush with the Black As boys as they venture into the wilds of Arnhem Land, hunting for adventure and a good feed’.
Whilst the adventures of the men are presented in a light hearted manner, as they face and overcome one challenge after another, their amazing survival and mechanical skills are evident. Yet they do not draw attention to them. Instead, they are always humble and respectful of their country, and of how things not within their control have aligned to contribute to their success. I recall comments by the men along the lines of ‘aren’t we lucky’, after once more successfully making camp and finding food in an environment where, to those without their skills, there would appear to be none available.
A funny thing about luck is that it often operates ‘behind the scenes’, and it is often only by a chance encounter, or some heavy self-reflection, long after an event has occurred that you realise the role it has played.
For example, luck played a huge role in my fledgling career as a patent attorney without me knowing it at the time.
Firstly, the applicant who had initially been successful in obtaining the trainee role at my firm that was to become mine decided, after his first morning at work that it wasn’t for him and left for lunch and greener pastures and didn’t come back.
As a consequence of that event, the role was readvertised, and I duly sent my application in.
Upon sorting through the resumes for the readvertised role, the attorney responsible noticed that I shared his birthday, apparently commented aloud words to the effect that ‘this guy has the same birthday as me – he must be good!’ and assured my success in the application process from that moment on.
‘success is luck’
‘You’ve got to ask yourself one question.
Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?’
SFPD Homicide Inspector Harry Callahan, Dirty Harry
Of course, it was only years later, over a refreshing beverage or two that I found this out.
Until then, I had mistakenly thought that it was my skilfully crafted resume, brilliant academic performance, and winning personality that had seen me through. Nope – the factor that had given me ‘the edge’ during the interview process was my birthday.
To those of you who have studied economics, the fact that an element of luck contributed to my success in that case should come as no surprise. Economists have long recognised the importance of luck in success. Indeed, their Tournament Theory, as I understand it, suggests that the output of a worker is dictated by two things – chance as well as skill.
Your skill (genetic gifts, studying hard, getting good qualifications, playing the game, putting in the time, seeing the opportunity, and so on) will get you so far. Chance, or luck, will also play a role in you ‘winning’ whatever the tournament may be (be it a promotion, a job, a licensing deal, or a share of the market, for example).
In a business sense, it is quite clear how you can seek to maximise the skill component of this. Defining your objective, having a plan to achieve it, and building and applying yourself, your team, and your network, according to that plan will head you in the right direction.
How do you influence the chance or luck parameter in this equation though?
In my experience, at least part of the key to getting more out of any ‘thing’ is to show genuine respect for it.
So, it seems that to tip the equation in your favour you could do worse than to acknowledge and show respect to luck, and give due credit where you can see that fate has shined favourably upon you and your endeavours.
Luck is huge. Acknowledge it!