This word has many meanings and applications, but the primary definition I am focusing on is “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s careful stewardship of resources.”. Before you are able to achieve any amount of success, you need to be a careful steward of your current resources like your time, money, equipment, staff, etc. You have to be a responsible steward which also leads to a responsible leader as your team members are resources that you need to meticulously care for.

Questions:

• What resources do you currently have for starting/operating your business?
• Are you currently accounting for and utilizing your resources with care? 
• Where can you improve on the utilization and management of your current resources?

I am sure you have heard the term ‘commitment” thrown around by all the coaches, gurus, and consultants, am I right? However, there is a definitive difference between tenacity and commitment that I think is important to address.
First, I will define commitment which is “the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.”.
Whereas, tenacity is defined as “the quality or fact of being very determined; determination: Persistence.”
To better understand the difference between tenacity and commitment, I would like to break down the terms used to define each.
Dedication is “a person who is devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity.”
Determination can be defined as “having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it: the process of establishing something exactly by calculation or research.”

Do you see the difference?

My understanding of the difference is that the definition of tenacity includes two VERY important components that commitment does not have:

1. “Having MADE a firm resolution”-this is an ACTION that the person with this quality has taken.
2. “The process of establishing something exactly by calculation or research”-this is another ACTION someone with tenacity takes to make the well-informed, previously mentioned, “firm resolution”.
Long story short, I value the quality of tenacity more than commitment as a part of my own S.T.A.R.T Mentality©. Being loyal or having purpose does not necessarily invoke ACTION whereas the resolute, decisive, and actionable nature of a tenacious person seems more efficacious to achieving long-term success.

Adaptability can be defined as “​​the ability to modify according to changing circumstances”.

Billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs can easily attribute much of their success on their ability to be adaptable as new challenges, technology, consumer needs, etc. arose. These technology titans had to keep up with the fastest-changing industry in the world. Without their adaptability, their products and business as a whole would have become obsolete like other technology/media companies like Blockbuster, Myspace, and Nextel Cellular.

I also find that I have to be extremely adaptable within my own business as it pertains to the best software, technology, algorithm changes, and social media trends. Being willing to dump old software or tech, despite the sunk costs, is sometimes necessary to keep progressing forward.

Regardless of your industry, there will be circumstances that force you to adapt and grow.

Questions:

• Can you think of any recent circumstances that forced you to adapt or adjust in your personal life or business?
• Were you successful in your adaptation?
• What can you do better next time a similar circumstance arises?

Tenacity and Resiliency have a common theme: persistence. However, resilience differs in that it is “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” You can have tenacity without resilience, but it is difficult to have resilience without tenacity. I believe that by having tenacity, you are able to better “recover quickly from difficulties”. Your determination (aka “firm decision”), to succeed helps you get up, even after you fall/fail.
Here is where you can start to see the qualities align. During adversity or failure, our tenacity and resiliency qualities force us to remain steadfast in our mission to succeed and allow us to think clearly about the future, instead of wallowing in our mistakes. Also, because you are a responsible steward of your business and you are thinking clearly, your adaptability helps you pivot and improve. And finally, your transparency with yourself and others allows you to better reflect, learn, and move on.

I jumped ahead mentioning transparency in that last paragraph, but I am assuming you probably understand what this term means. Most of us understand transparency simply as ‘being honest and upfront”. However, there are actually a lot more formal definitions according to Merriam-Webster: “free from pretense or deceit: easily detected or seen through: readily understood: characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices.”
As it pertains to The S.T.A.R.T Mentality©, I have chosen transparency because I believe that it is absolutely necessary to not only OBTAIN success but MAINTAIN it for the long term. It is crucial that you are always honest and conduct your business with integrity. I also advise that you are transparent in EVERYTHING you do, write, and say online and in-person. This means providing ALL the information your audience needs upfront; having easy-to-understand policies, expectations, product descriptions, and contracts; and ALWAYS under-promise and OVER-deliver! You should also be transparent with yourself and your accountability partners about your current bandwidth, progress, schedule, etc.