Are You The David or The Goliath

I was watching an interesting TED talk by Malcolm Gladwell today. His interpretation of the classic underdog tale: David, a young Israeli shepherd armed only with a sling, beats Goliath, the mighty Philistine warrior. The story has transcended its biblical origins to become a common shorthand for unlikely victory.

I really loved his ending. He says " Giants are not as strong and  powerful as they seem and sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket". When we are growing up the corporate ladder sometimes we behave like the giant Goliath, mighty and powerful bulldozing our way through the organization and sometimes we are this David, timid and powerless in appearance but with an ace up the sleeve to get the win. But unfortunately winning in the corporate world is not that straight forward always. You can neither be like Goliath or David; nor can you afford  to be not like both of them. Let me explain what I am trying to say.

There was a forty day deadlock in the war between Israelis and Philistines in the Valley of Ellah as none of the army would descend down the valley in the fear of getting exposed to the other side first. But twice a day Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior, would come out between the lines in his armor and challenge the Israelis to send out someone to fight him to decide the outcome in single combat. The Israelis were intimidated by Goliath and never braved to fight him. Many a times in real life situations in corporate world you are the Goliath imposing your power, asserting your position to get your way. But at the same time you must be aware that there could be many shepherd boys who possibly can hit you at your weakest spot with the hidden sling shot. One of the explanations given by Malcolm Gladwell for Goliath's defeat was his myopia. Goliath couldn't notice David until he was close enough, otherwise he would have definitely figured out that the shepherd boy without any armor and weapon is not going to fight him hand in hand. In medical terms his myopia could have been a side effect of a syndrome called "Acromegaly" which was also the cause of his gigantism. In acromegaly, a tumor in the pituitary gland results in over production of growth hormones leading to gigantism. When the excess hormones expand they compress the surrounding brain tissues primarily affecting the optic nerves. So clearly Goliath's greatest strength was also the cause of his greatest weakness. I am not saying that you shouldn't be the Goliath at all, sometimes it's necessary to ensure that you are not being taken for granted. But before you chose to do that be cognizant of your weaknesses too and learn to use humility as your defense.

Now let's look at the David side of the story. It was definitely very bold and courageous of him to volunteer for fighting Goliath. But it was not just a leap of faith for him, he had evaluated the situation carefully and devised a plan to fight Goliath using his strength, something he had been doing for years. When he was offered the armor by the king, he clearly denied as he had a complete clarity on how he wanted to fight his battle. Sometimes when faced with challenges in the corporate world you have to be the David, taking the risk to shoulder the delivery of a seemingly impossible task. These are the opportunities that propels you up the corporate ladder, but before you grab them be sure to have a game plan that is based on your strengths. Failure in this case means a suicidal career move and you can't take chances to learn and experiment here. However unlike David you may like to put the armor, at least a light one, to make everyone believe that you are well prepared to take on the audacious task. People are not aware of your strength as much you are, they will have their doubts. But at this point you rather focus on delivery than wasting your energy in handling the skepticism around. So put on the armor, make people believe that you are playing the game the way they know, keep the interference minimum.
                                   P ( Performance) = P ( Potential) -I (Interference)
                 You deliver to your potential if you manage to keep the interference minimum.

Long story cut short, in a corporate set up you are the David and you are the Goliath. Again as an ex-consultant I have the obligation to synthesize and present you the "so what" in three bullet points :)

Here it goes....

1. When you are the Goliath, be humble and watchful, as you definitely would be hit by someone with a hidden slingshot.

2. While being David, stick to your strengths no matter what the world thinks and put that armor, even if unnecessary, to make the world think that you are the one.

3. Learn to manage David and Goliath, as you need both of them for success.