My mother, who recently passed away at the age of 82, often used a couple of phrases to inspire us, right from the time when my brother and I were little boys in school. She never stopped using these phrases even when we got older. One particular one that I remember her saying often – "Time and tide wait for no man." That became a refrain for us, never to lose the opportunities that came our way. Another one that she used, "Opportunity never knocks twice, so take it the first time it comes."
I was trying to look up the etymology of this phrase to see whether it could be credited to somebody. The Internet seems to think that the earliest use was by a St. Marher in 1225, that version being "Tide nor time tarrieth for no man." However no one is really sure who coined this phrase. But it is such a good phrase to keep in our minds. It's so true! Time comes and time goes; the tide will come and the tide will go. But there are moments that are crucial in our lives, that if we don't take advantage of, we will lose them.
I was re-reading this book by Jim Collins and Morten Hansen, 'Great By Choice'. He talks about companies that went through what he calls the 10 X'ers and some of the things that were hallmarks of their success stories. One of the things that he mentions about these companies is that they knew timing. They had a unique sense for what was the right time. So they were able to zoom in and zoom out – zoom out first to be able to see the big picture, assess the time frame, look at changing conditions, situations and what was happening all around. It is so important to not have a myopic view. Then, once they realized that the conditions were right for something, they were able to zoom in and execute plans and objectives. They were able to do this with regularity so that they always seemed to stay on top.
I think what companies did, and continue to do even today, is true even for our own lives. All of us know that there are windows of opportunity that open up for us and those windows don't stay open for too long. They close after some time.
I picked up a book called 'Cheap: The High Cost Of Discount Culture' by Ellen Ruppel Shell. In it she documents companies/people who were able to find out the right time to move. As early as 1875, she talks about a guy called John Wanamaker who recognized that at that time, they needed a new kind of marketing strategy to match the speeded up system of manufacture that was currently going on in the United States. So he was one of the first people to bring out what they called then, The Department Store – the grand depot for merchandise was how he coined it. But he realized that there was just so much that was being produced and it had to be given under one roof for people to be able to buy it. The moment he took that opportunity, business began to move in.
She then goes on to say, "At one point, post-Christmas, when sales dropped, he had to lay off many people. He felt very sad about doing that and decided to buy white bed linen in bulk and priced them at just slightly above cost and offer it as post-Christmas sales. This set up a new retailing tradition because the success of this high-volume, low priced gambit led them to not having to let go workers. And this post-Christmas sale has become such a huge hit with companies all across the world. But John Wanamaker was able to see very clearly what was a good opportunity and seize it and make most of it.
As we look at our own lives, we realize that in the things and work that we do and the strategies that we have, it often has a lot to do with the right moment. We can do due diligence but to push at the right moment is the key. I look at what's happening today with videos coming in India or even songs on MP3. Till today, Netflix will not allow movies to be streamed in India, although it's available in the US. Amazon will not allow their songs to be streamed in India. Even Wal-Mart doesn't allow MP3's unless you have a credit card from abroad. But the company that has moved into India is iTunes and they've priced it at a ridiculous rate of Rs 15 a song. It has got a captive market because every one now wants to buy it. It's so cheap! The cost of the same song in the US would be 99 cents, which would be Rs 60 at today's rate of conversion. They were able to sense the time and move with it.
The key here is to be able to spot the opportunity, to seize the opportunity. In his book, Jim Collins says, "In 1987, two companies were trying to get their products approved by the FDA. One company was Genentech and they had a new tPa, known as activase. It was a wonder drug, supposed to dissolve clots in heart attack victims and they pushed it for approval with the FDA. They spent five hours in presentations and discussions, but the FDA voted against it saying that they wanted them to go back and do further studies. Ironically, they found that Genentech actually had access to all the information that the FDA needed but it was not readily available. It was not available when they were asked the questions. They just weren't ready. By the time they returned six months later, ten other companies had got into the race and by the time they got approval, their stock had fallen 60%.
But at the same time, another company headed by George Rathmann, Amgen, had a product EPO. They recognized the moment, the science was done, the trials were done, "we have the product ready, the clock is ticking and we have to go now." So they approached the FDA with their application and what they did was that they got a group of people whom the company started to refer to as 'The Simi Valley Hostages'. They worked at the office till they couldn't work there, then they just moved into a motel, cut off normal life, began to work brutal non-stop hours. They cut out their lifestyle outside for 93 days. At the end of it they had a 19,578 page document. They rented a truck, drove to the airport and shipped it to the FDA. They got the FDA approval.
We not only need to be able to seize the opportunity, but be able to be prepared when that opportunity comes. So I want to leave you with two questions as you look at your own lives:
1. What should you be doing to prepare yourself for that break or that opportunity? How should you be preparing yourself for that particular moment?
2. Are you zooming out so that you can recognize it? Are you able to zoom out to be able to recognize that particular opportunity?
The Greeks had two words for time – kairos and chronos. Chronos is the word that we use for our own time from which we get the word chronometer. Kairos is divine time, when a divine opportunity presents itself. As I think about it, for us to recognize divine opportunities, we need to be able to lean on the "Divine's" wisdom. God's wisdom is available for you and for me. So I want to encourage you to lean on His wisdom and understanding, to recognize divine opportunities that you can take in your life.
May I pray with you? Almighty God, give to each of us that wisdom to be able to understand kairos time, when You are opening opportunities for us, in our personal lives, in our families, in our companies and the things that we do. Help us to recognize divine opportunities and take them. Help us also to be diligent and prepare for those opportunities so that we can be able to recognize when it comes and to go forward having done due diligence. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.
• "Time and Tide Wait for No Man," http://www.ask.com/question/who-said-time-and-tide-wait-for-no-man
• Ellen Ruppel Shell, "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture." John Wanamaker, pgs. 11-14
• Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen, "Great By Choice." Quoting "Genentech, George Rathmann, Amgen, "Simi Valley Hostages." Pgs. 117-120
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