Raised in a Marine Corps family, my childhood trained for adaptability and resilience. My father taught me persistence; the duty was to hold course until given another order. There wasn’t room for “don’t feel like it” or “I give up.” Mid-career I realized this attribute creates a point of vulnerability – in life there isn’t a command providing orders. I must determine the next move and assess when things work or not. Significantly, I wasn’t taught when to fold ’em.
I’ve loved this career helping families and business owners with finances. I’ve had amazing mentors who’ve modeled tenacity, values and decision-making that lead to wealth generation. The human element behind financial management is powerful and fascinating.
Through my work with The Jump Fund, I see the fold ’em concept played out in real time within the start-up community. The high growth start-up is like a sprint on a razor wire with obstacles. Start-ups don’t talk about fail, because it’s about the pivot – releasing one thing to begin something else. It’s a time-compressed struggle toward continuous improvement and optimization. Your survival depends on it.
Outside the start-up world, we avoid endings because they involve registering disappointment, sharing negative news, creating conflict, saying good-bye and feeling natural grief. Not appealing. That energy, time and/or money that’s going out the door with limited-return prospects could be deployed elsewhere and the sooner you move proactively, the better.
Fold ’em observations):