This paradox was coined after Admiral James Stockdale, a long-time prisoner of war in the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War, from 1965-1972.  He was a Naval Aviator shot down and captured.  He was the highest-ranking officer in the POW camp.

When he was released, he was asked how he made it through.  Survival in the camp depended not only on the continued functioning of the prisoners’ bodies, but (and perhaps more importantly) the resilience of the prisoners’ minds. The prisoners had little control over their bodies. Those decisions belonged to the prison guards. Nor did the prisoners have control over the timeline of their release.

When asked, Admiral Stockdale said the men that did not make it, were the “optimists”.  But they were the ones who suffered most; and many died. Stockdale said, “(The optimists) believed ‘we’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”

According to Admiral Stockdale, the goal was to stay in the middle, avoid emotion and despondence, but remain calm and persistent, accepting the uncertainty gracefully as long as it takes. “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be”, as stated by Admiral Stockdale.

We can apply this paradox into today’s world; both in business and in personal aspects of life.  The recent pandemic affected businesses in drastic ways, many of us are seeing losses in our portfolio’s, and commitments we have seem overwhelming at times. 

Adopting this paradox can help us to not only continue to survive but thrive.  Have faith in an eventual positive outcome, no matter the level of challenge, but recognize the reality of the situation.  Keep your mind focused on your goals. Some goals will take longer, some more easily attained, stay consistent, you will prevail.

The term, the Stockdale Paradox was coined by Jim Collins (Author) in a book he wrote called “Good to Great”.  I recommend reading the book.  The book also addresses a concept called “Confront the most brutal facts of your current situation”. By knowing the challenges you face in a concise manner, you can better meet those challenges. 

Another great book, that reinforces these topics is Viktor Frankl’s book, “Man Search For Meaning”.  In this book the author documents about prisoners in WWII that died around Christmas with a hope they’d be home by Christmas; they died of hopelessness. In a quote from the book, the author states “As the time drew near and there was no encouraging news, the prisoners lost courage and disappointment overcame them. This had a dangerous influence on their powers of resistance and a great number of them died.”

Both of these are great books to read.  Consider applying the lessons of the Stockdale Paradox in your business and personal life.

Michael McKee is a long-time member of the Omaha business community. If you have something to share with Michael McKee, you can write to michael@omahadailyrecord.com, or you can attend at the Omaha Empowerment Breakfast (OmahaEmpowermentBreakfast.org). This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be furnished only by a licensed professional.