Resilience through change and polar bears

Article written by Mark Agnew, Motivational Keynote Speaker

As I lay in my tent in the Arctic, I could swear I heard something moving outside. I whispered to my teammates. They shrugged it off. It was probably just the wind. Then…. A deep guttural growl split the silence. We could hear a polar bear’s heavy breathing right next to our heads. The only thing between us and the bear was the thin layer of our tent. The air was tight with tension.

The exciting chaos that ensued taught me a great deal about resilience. It was one of the most memorable and enjoyable days of our 103-day adventure. We went on to become the first people to kayak through the Arctic’s Northwest Passage and I was crowned European Adventurer of the Year. Yet it is that day, not the accolades, that I remember most vividly.

Change comes for all business. Thriving through change, like waking up with a polar bear next to your tent, requires resilience. If you and your people can reframe change and growth as an exciting challenge, and not just an obstacle to overcome, you’ll out perform all competitors who are threatened by change.

I’ve travelled the world, sharing my Find Your Polar Bear framework with the likes of Google, Heineken, The National Grid and other organisations. Members of the IWMA are facing many of the same struggles I’ve seen across a host of industries:

For example, trade & tariff uncertainty, export demand weakness, cost pressures, industry fraud risk via fake invoices, adapting to new markets & technology like electric vehicles and AI, regional trade complexity caused by FCPA enforcement or more tariffs, to name but a few.

If you want to thrive through this storm, these are the fundamentals of resilience through change:

You can’t control the wind, but you can keep paddling

Resilient people focus on what they can control and let go of everything else. Companies waste time, energy and manpower trying to bend uncontrollable variables to their will. In the Arctic, one day might be windy, the next might be calm. All I could do was focus on my technique, effort level and properly looking after myself when we were onshore so I was ready to go again the next day.

Imagination

Resilience requires you to be able to picture different outcomes. If you are going through adversity, and the only scenario you can imagine is the most likely one, or the worst one, then any other outcome will just be a matter of luck. Resilient people use their imagination to dream up favourable endings.

Adaptability

Now you’ve imagined a different outcome, you need to be able to adapt to make it a reality. Imagination without adaptability is just wishful manifestation. Adapting is easier said than done. Often, if you’ve already invested a lot of time into one path, changing paths can feel like quitting. Be brave enough to know adapting is not the same as quitting.

Community and Camaraderie

Camaraderie is formed when tough times are shared. Asking for help is not just about getting support, it’s also about making the struggle meaningful by sharing it with like minded people. It’s one of the key tenants of reframing change as an exciting opportunity – change is no longer a threat, it’s a chance to build bonds with your colleagues. When you get that sense of community and camaraderie you’ll become greater than the sum total of your parts.

Tough. But not too tough

Resilience requires you to be tough. You need to be tough enough to stay the course and not crumble at the first sign of discomfort. But too much toughness and you undermine your resilience. People who are too tough fail to adapt and fail to ask for help, so they cannot access the sense of community and camaraderie. People often think toughness and resilience are one and the same, but the former is merely a component of the latter. It’s vital you are tough. It’s vital you temper your toughness.

Members of the IWMA are facing changes, challenges and stresses. Resilience should not be an abstract concept. It is an actionable series of decisions and steps. Follow the steps and change becomes an exciting challenge. You and your company won’t just survive – you’ll thrive.