Grit: why we need it now more than ever

Angela Duckworth is the current guru of grit. In her New York Times bestseller, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, she says “grit is passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement….It combines resilience, ambition, and self-control in the pursuit of goals that take months, years, or even decades.”
WHAT WE NEED
For the challenges of start-ups we need employees with grit. Or maybe we could also use the word “pluck” (no one uses that word anymore!) which the dictionary defines as “spirited and determined courage.”
Drive, tenacity, imagination, creativity—and pluck.
WHY?
These qualities are necessary in a fast-paced, competitive and ever-changing world where technology is evolving so quickly we need to be hypervigilant to keep up.
We need them to think big, out of the box, analytically, creatively, empathically, globally—and be the best non-clock-punching, solution-finding, chaos-embracing folks we can use to shape policies and products. Can they be both team players and solo explorers? Yes–chaos demands that.
WHY EMBRACE THE CHAOS?
The resources might be there one day and not the next. New problems crop up like dandelions. It may be tranquil one minute and a four-alarm fire the next. The 24-hour news cycle creates ripples that turn into tidal waves.
IT COMES DOWN TO GRIT
The reason for the nation-wide adoption of Angela Duckworth’s theories about passion and perseverance is because we need grit more and more in this unpredictable world economy. We need something we can grow into—something we can trust and build on. We need an oasis of reason in a sometimes unreasonable world.
Resilient and gritty employees use their broad set of skills to tackle your day-to-day issues and find lasting solutions.