Know When To Fold Them

??………?????

Originally uploaded by *??*

In Japanese culture if you remonstrate three times and lose, it is customary to cease your protest because further action is likely to be fruitless. In the workplace when you see something is going off course, it can be that you protest or try to fix what you see as a huge issue. When you encounter resistance, you may even want to fight it. In fact, you’re often told it’s best to stay and fight. Never give up. Never give in. Be the last man standing. Never quit. Don’t be a quitter. But, is that always the best advice?

I once worked with a guy who worked for a company who had gone belly up. One by one everyone was laid off. In the end he was about all that was left. As he locked up the building, he was literally the last man out the door. He said he would never do it again. He would bail long before it reached that point. Essentially he was trying to tell me that I never wanted to be that guy who was going down with the ship. Especially if it wasn’t my ship in the first place.

For some reason his story has stuck with me over the years and in this poor economy it has come to my mind a little more often of late. I’m convinced, you have to know when to quit. You have to know when to move on. You have to know when to bow out. You have to know when to fold. If you look around, the best of the best always know when to quit. They always know when it’s time to move on to something else.

Personally, I’m still working on this. I’m the type that wants to put my foot down and take a stand. I want to fight it out. I want to protest and bring about positive change. I want to make things better and I’m prepared to fight to make it so.

Maybe I need to take a cue from the Japanese. Maybe you should too.