Lessons of Hope from This Week’s Miner Miracle

by Wendi Watts

One by one, we watched miracle after miracle happen as each miner was rescued from deep underground in Chile. Only the coldest of hearts wasn’t overwhelmed with emotion while watching these men step into daylight and enjoy extended hugs in tearful reunions with their loved ones.

As each man surfaced and was removed from the 22-foot-long capsule, cries of “Chi-Chi-Chi-Le-Le-Le” broke out among the determined rescuers as they celebrated another success in a project in which everything had been challenging – getting to the buried men, keeping them physically and mentally stable and healthy, and supporting their frantic families. Rescue organizers were forced to dig deep into their imaginations to create a way to save these men.

Nothing was easy, but at no point were there reports that anyone was giving up on bringing all 33 men back alive. The question was, “What do we have to do make this work?” — not “Can we do this?” or “Should we do this?” or “What is the cost-benefit analysis of doing this?” This had to be one of the scariest things any of these people had ever faced. But they never let their fear overshadow their hope that they could do something they never dreamed possible and their determination to make it happen even when there was so little margin for error.

Fear helps you identify what can do wrong. Hope gives you the confidence to believe you can overcome what can go wrong.

It was necessary
One of the things I will be curious to see afterward is how this experience changes the people of Chile, including its leaders. When you accomplish something that seems impossible, you see the world differently. If we are willing, I think they have an opportunity to teach us a lesson we have long forgotten.

It has been a long, long time since we saw a business or government throw aside what is practical and reasonable and simply do what is necessary. In the 1960s, putting a man on the moon was not a practical or reasonable thing to do. It was an incredibly dangerous and expensive proposition. But it was necessary.

During that same time, we watched as young men and women risked their own lives to knock down the walls of racial discrimination by walking unarmed into a wall of fully armed law enforcement officers and police dogs. They were filled with fear, but their hope of a better world was stronger. They didn’t do this because it was practical or reasonable. But it was necessary.

In the 1980s, we watched as a Pope, a prime minister, and a president led the world to tear down the Berlin Wall and bring freedom and hope, not only to those trapped behind the Iron Curtain but also to the rest of the world, which had been cut off from this part of the human family. In the end, the free world won the Cold War through hope, not fear and retaliation. It was not a reasonable or practical objective. But it was necessary.

And now, in the midst of the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, we are looking for practical, reasonable ways to deal with our problems and in the process avoid doing what it necessary. Businesses say they are waiting for consumers to start spending before they hire new workers or increase workers’ pay. Consumers have either lost their jobs or are worried they will lose them and therefore make spending choices based on their fears, not hopes.

Meanwhile, many big businesses are reporting record profits, but employees aren’t seeing much of it. They say that they are sitting on the cash because they fear that the government might pass new laws or regulations that will affect them. Some also are hedging their bets, waiting to see if the new health care reform legislation will be changed after the November elections. So, many businesses are making decisions based on fears and caution, not hope, and are waiting to see what happens.

And the only answer the government can come up with for the jobs and economy problem is to go further into debt, basing their decisions only on hope and completely disregarding fear.

Time to say, mission possible
What we all – people, businesses, government – seem to be suffering from is an extreme lack of imagination and belief that if we do what is right we can achieve great things. We can put a man on the moon. We can overcome discrimination. We can win a war against a large and terrifying enemy. We can have a thriving economy that benefits many, not just a few. But to do that, businesses and government and individuals must quit acting solely on fear. We have to quit limiting ourselves to what is practical and reasonable and instead reach for what is necessary.

As the rescue effort in Chile has shown, when we start asking how we can make something work and refuse to accept that the task is impossible, there is nothing we can’t do. And when we start to actually do what we thought wasn’t possible and see the positive effects of it around us, it will inspire us to do even greater things.

Wendi Watts is editor of HR Hero Line, a weekly ezine from HRHero for human resources and business professionals.