The late baseball great Lefty Gomez said at one time, “I’d rather be lucky than good.” And most have experienced this adage at one time or the other. But what does it mean?
Lucky is having good luck. “Luck is the things that happen to a person because of chance : the accidental way things happen without being planned.” It would appear that as good as a person might be at an endeavor, luck can augment it. But luck, in and of itself, should not be solely depended on. To do so is irresponsible leadership.
Jim Collins, researcher, author, consultant, and leadership expert, said: “All companies [leaders] experience both good and bad luck. It is what you do with your luck that counts.” In essence, luck is no more than a lever. A lever rightly used can create worlds of opportunity.
There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer’s neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer
on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck? Who knows?
What does luck have to do with it? Could be little or much. How do you view it? What will you do with it? How much do you depend on it?
It is best to heed the observation of Thomas Jefferson: “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” Work hard! Get lucky!
