Use courage

"Skill and courage are very important," Cristiano Ronaldo was quoted in yesterday's newspapers. "If you don't have courage, you can't do the skills."

Personally, I don't define courage as the absence of fear. That is Hollywood courage - as captured in action movies - which gives the impression that success comes from fearlessness.

I define courage as experiencing fear, acknowledging that I'm afraid, but if it's important for enough for me, I will still push ahead in spite of my fear. This is what I learned from playing poker: It is fight or flight.

Resolute leaders acknowledge that, yes; we've screwed up before, and that we may screw up again, and that we may in fact screw up this time. But we plunge ahead. Our desire for the reward overwhelms the human instinct to quit and compromise, to take the safe route.

Leaders can't avoid stress, fear, pain and pressure. When necessary, I pick flight - but otherwise, I try to be brave and fight.

The faces of courage