It takes nerves and nerve to last in business

My wife’s eight-year-old nephew Mico is quite a character. He always somehow managed to lighted up tense situations with his innocent antics and comments.

One time, his mother was talking to us about her husband, with whom she is estranged, and she was relating how he had carried on this affair with another woman. It was a sad story so the mood was quite somber. All this time, Mico was taking everything in like a sponge.

At one point, his mother paused. Mico then took advantage of the situation and interjected his own words of wisdom – "Oo nga, eh. Si Papa talaga! Grabe! The nerves!"

After hearing this comment from Mico, we all looked at each other and chuckled reluctantly, until we couldn’t help it anymore – we all burst into laughter. I grabbed Mico around the neck, gave him an affectionate hug, rubbed his head, and said, "Mico, ‘the nerve’ lang dapat, hindi ‘the nerves!’ Iba yon." And everyone laughed again. Recently, I was invited by the Department of Education to give a talk to a group of teachers and some student leaders. I was asked to give a talk on the topic "Passion, Vision, and Discipline." I’ve given quite a number of talks in the past but it was usually either about law, business, marketing, media, time management or career – topics I’m quite familiar with. But this was the first time I was being asked to give a talk on such a vague topic. Passion, vision, and discipline are such broad concepts. It’s like having to talk about life – or love. You can describe these concepts in one sentence – or you can describe them via a 20-volume treatise. So I wasn’t sure how I was going to tackle the topic and wrap it all up in two hours. I wasn’t very confident. I had a bad case of the "nerves."

Right before my talk, I remembered Mico’s comment. I got intrigued about the word "nerve." It seems that the word could mean different things. In fact, by merely adding an "s" its meaning changes dramatically. Apart from the anatomical nerve (as in nerves in the nervous system), "nerve" also means bravery, guts, and courage (e.g. "It takes a lot of nerve to sign up for the army"). At the same time it could mean impudence, audacity or overconfidence (e.g. "You’ve got some nerve coming here, after what you’ve done to me!"). So it could mean strong-willed and gutsy, sometimes almost to the point of being overbearing.

But then, when you add an "s" to it, its meaning mysteriously becomes the opposite. Having the "nerves" means being anxious, worried, tensed, or stressed. For example, before my DepEd talk, I had a bad case of the nerves. And of course, if you add the letters "ous," you get the word "nervous." Odd, don’t you think?

Despite its "chameleonic" personality, the "nerve" is a good ally to have, especially in business. I’ve always believed that in order to be an effective businessman, you have to have the right dosage and blend of "nerve" and "nerves." If you have only one, you’ll never make it.

Business – and surviving in the corporate world – takes a lot of guts and confidence. You’ve got to have the nerve to survive – and thrive – in the rat race. You need to have confidence in yourself, you need to be brave, and you need to have guts. Like they say, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. The brave get the raves, and the lame get the shame. In selling your business to potential clients, you’ve got to present your product or service with confidence – like you really believe in what you’re selling. If you shake like Elvis during a presentation, or stutter like Porky Pig, those you are presenting to will immediately come to the conclusion (even if it’s a wrong one) that you don’t really believe in the product. If you truly believed in the product, your confidence should naturally come out. But then, how many times have we seen gutsy, arrogant businessmen who eventually became too full of themselves? These guys had too much nerve that they totally ignored "the nerves." And consequently, they ended up with nothing. No business – and no friends.

In business, as in life, you need a right dose of fear and a right dose of bravery. You need the nerves to fuel your nerve. If you don’t have fear to temper your confidence, you’ll end up being just a whiff of hot air. At the same time, if you don’t convert your fear into confidence, you’ll end up being a "chicken." And guess what happens to chickens? They get eaten up.

So remember, use the nerves to get the nerve.

And that’s half the job done.

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Thanks for your letters! You may e-mail me at rodnepo@yahoo.com.