Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1325965
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION JANUARY 6, 2021 Page 17 The Stockdale Paradox and Portable Sanitation in 2021…continued from page 4 Yet so many portable sanitation companies quickly regrouped when events were canceled and had a banner year in 2020. It was different, to be sure, but it was profitable. How did this happen? They focused on the possibilities. They immediately began looking for ways to make money in the circumstances that exist now, rather than lamenting the ones lost. Operators provided units and hand wash for COVID-19 testing centers. They created hand sanitizing stations and trailers from scratch. They increased units and service on worksites. Supplier companies worked night and day to design new equipment and source raw materials. They made videos showing operators how to jerry-rig existing supplies for new circumstances. It was stressful. It stretched us, and we found ways to do old things in new ways. As Admiral Stockdale observed, "Stress is essential to leadership. Living with stress, knowing how to handle pressure, is necessary for survival. It is related to [a person's] ability to wrest control of his own destiny from the circumstances that surround him…" So as we continue to live through what we hope—but don't know—will be the last days of the current pandemic, there's still a need to see the possibilities and wrest control of our own destiny out of the circumstances we can't control. While we wait for events outside our realm to transpire, put your energy into the opportunities you have to evolve your business for the "new normal." • Events will be different than they were before. Do you have the right equipment? • How can you better communicate with your customers about your new products and services? • How can you update your online presence to take advantage of the new ways people want to access your products? • What new procedures need to be created at your company? • What training does your team need? • What new services can you develop and sell? Use the time available to make opportunities happen and be ready to grab new ones when they come. Be Creative One of the most flummoxing aspects of the pandemic is its effects on "how we do things." Whether that is in how you make money, in your operating procedures, or how you handle personnel issues, the old normal was snatched away. For a long time, we focused on getting it back. Some folks still do. As Stockdale noted, being "optimistic" and hoping "normal" will return—whether by spring or by the 4th of July, or when everyone is vaccinated—is a recipe for disillusionment and inertia. In the POW camp, the people who focused on getting out and getting back to normal died. The ones "with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of [their] current reality, whatever they might be," survived. Continued on page 18