NYT review of Paul Sullivan's new book Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don’t:
"Mr. Peters had run his business well in the 30 years he had owned Warburg Realty. Now through no fault of his own he found himself in a financial crisis that threatened the future of his firm. This was the definition of a clutch situation. Over the next few months, he responded well because his actions were guided by the five traits of people who are great under pressure: focus, discipline, adaptability, being present and a mix of entrepreneurial desire and fear of losing his business. He also avoided the three traps that cause most people to choke: he took responsibility for what needed to be done, he did not overthink the situation nor grow overconfident when his business stabilized. Yet none of this was preordained on that day in November
Under financial pressure, most people do not and cannot think dispassionately until it is too late. They choke because they wait too long to sell, thinking their situation will improve. When it does not, they have burned through their reserve funds and are still going to lose what they were struggling to keep. Mr. Haverstick provided a tool that could take the passion out of financial decision-making. His rule was that when you have less than 12 months of cash left to cover your debt payments, you need to start selling assets. His prescription applied to anyone because the advice was not based on having a lot of money so much as being smart with the money you have left.
Mr. Peters knew there was nothing he could do about the magnitude of the financial crisis. He could only control the decisions he made, and he knew they would be crucial ones. So he listened to Mr. Haverstick and began to restructure his business. He managed to do this before the real estate crisis deepened, but he couldn’t have known that. What mattered was his reaction under pressure: he focused on the problem. This is the first step for anyone who wants to be clutch regardless of the situation"
"Mr. Peters had run his business well in the 30 years he had owned Warburg Realty. Now through no fault of his own he found himself in a financial crisis that threatened the future of his firm. This was the definition of a clutch situation. Over the next few months, he responded well because his actions were guided by the five traits of people who are great under pressure: focus, discipline, adaptability, being present and a mix of entrepreneurial desire and fear of losing his business. He also avoided the three traps that cause most people to choke: he took responsibility for what needed to be done, he did not overthink the situation nor grow overconfident when his business stabilized. Yet none of this was preordained on that day in November
Under financial pressure, most people do not and cannot think dispassionately until it is too late. They choke because they wait too long to sell, thinking their situation will improve. When it does not, they have burned through their reserve funds and are still going to lose what they were struggling to keep. Mr. Haverstick provided a tool that could take the passion out of financial decision-making. His rule was that when you have less than 12 months of cash left to cover your debt payments, you need to start selling assets. His prescription applied to anyone because the advice was not based on having a lot of money so much as being smart with the money you have left.
Mr. Peters knew there was nothing he could do about the magnitude of the financial crisis. He could only control the decisions he made, and he knew they would be crucial ones. So he listened to Mr. Haverstick and began to restructure his business. He managed to do this before the real estate crisis deepened, but he couldn’t have known that. What mattered was his reaction under pressure: he focused on the problem. This is the first step for anyone who wants to be clutch regardless of the situation"
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