There’s nothing else we can do.

How often do you hear that phrase? How often are you the guilty party? We seem to utter that sickening sentence without a second thought. It’s supposed to mean we’ve hit a brick wall, we’ve gone as far as we can go, we’ve done everything humanly possible. The problem is that’s hardly ever the case.

What it means is we prematurely accepted defeat.

Similar phrases are:

• “We’ve done all we can do, it’s up to them now.”
• “The odds are insurmountable.”
• “It’s no use, we should just kill it.”

They are the words of the worthless. The language of the lazy. We have developed a bad habit of accepting defeat too quickly. Something doesn’t work the first time around and we immediately kill it and move on to the next project. Failure isn’t always a bad thing, but we’re giving up too soon and too easily.

The truth is there’s almost always something else that can be done. There’s always another choice, another road, or another idea. Persistence, hard work, and creativity have a way of turning certain defeat into celebrated success.

A Lesson from the Buffalo

One of the most popular YouTube videos of all time is called Battle at Kruger. It depicts an amazing survival scene of a buffalo filmed in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

Can’t see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

Things start to look dismal around the 2:45 mark. This is where most of us would say, “The odds are insurmountable. There’s nothing else we can do.” We would be ready to accept defeat and move on.

If you listen closely, you can hear an exchange in the video between a man named Frank and an unnamed woman:

Frank: They’re coming to help the baby now, watch.
Woman: No, they’re too late. [Pause] Can they help him now Frank?
Frank: They can.
Woman: He’s still alive you think?
Frank: He’s still alive.

The woman has already accepted defeat at this point. She may be hopeful, but she has prepared herself for the buffalo’s death. A few seconds later (around the 3:25 mark) you hear another woman say,

I hope they kill it quickly.

To recap: A baby buffalo is in the water, surrounded by six lions who are anxious to eat it. A herd of buffalo are standing nearby, watching the events unfold. Defeat has been accepted.

Let’s Put Ourselves in this Situation

1. We are the herd of buffalo.
2. Our customer is the baby buffalo in the water.
3. The problem is…the problem is pretty obvious.

As the herd of buffalo, have we done everything we can do? We ran as fast as we could to escape the hungry lions, but unfortunately not everyone made it out OK. This is our typical defense against any lion-like predator; we run and it’s every buffalo for himself. Get caught and it’s tough cookies; you should have ordered those new Nikes we told you about.

Are the odds insurmountable? It certainly seems that way. There are six lions surrounding our defenseless baby buffalo and they have him trapped in the water. Trying to help him at this point may only cause more problems. Perhaps they’ll “kill it quickly” so we don’t have to worry about this problem anymore.

Things are Going Downhill Fast

Ok, let’s return to the battle, because a problem isn’t really a problem without a crocodile. Yes, a crocodile has joined in on the fun and hopes to get some free lunch courtesy of his lion friends. I suppose they call it “swimming with the crocodiles” for a reason.

At the 4:07 mark, all hope is surely lost. Defeat has not only been accepted as an outcome, it is now expected. Our baby buffalo is dinner; it is now only a matter of whose dinner. At one end a crocodile is crushing it under the weight of its vice-like jaws. At the other end the lions are violently clutching and biting, doing everything they can to hold on to their next meal.
It’s up to the baby now…It’s no use..Let’s just kill it…There’s nothing else we can do.

Choosing Greatness

Or, maybe there is something we can do. After all, we’re a first-class herd of buffalo. We work well together and we’ve done some really great things in the past. This problem seems to be especially nasty, but shouldn’t we at least give it our best effort? Do we have to accept defeat, or can we dare to be remarkable?

Our narrator Frank has lost his optmism. At the 4:40 mark he’s telling us,

Ah, they’re too late.

Nothing personal Frank, but screw you, we’re not accepting defeat that easily. We’re going to kick some oversized feline ass. It may be too late, but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.

Things start turning around at the 5:50 mark. The momentum is shifting. Defeat is fading. We’re tossing lions around like rag dolls and the crocodile is completely out of the picture. This problem doesn’t seem so nasty anymore.

We can taste victory.

At 6:20 we bring new life to our once-dead buffalo. He’s standing up and fighting with his last ounce of energy. A mere ten seconds later and this problem is almost solved. We have freed our baby from the clutches of death and he is now standing with us.

Victory!

The lions are scurrying away like cockroaches scrambling from a spotlight. We have slayed the dragon! Or the lions and crocodiles. Whatever. We freakin’ rock!

Doesn’t it feel better to win, to be remarkable, to celebrate success instead of accepting defeat?

I urge you to start actively listening for that filthy phrase, “There’s nothing else we can do.” When you hear it, please take action. Do not accept defeat so early. It will go a long way in defining yourself as a leader and changing the culture of your company. You may not be as lucky as the buffalo, but you can always do something to improve the customer experience. Customers appreciate over-the-top effort, even if it doesn’t solve the issue at hand.

Choose to be great and you will be.

Questions: Have you encountered this type of attitude recently? How did it make you feel? How did you respond?