A lot of people are discouraged today because they have laboured far more than their peers, yet the results obtained are not comparable. They have dug wells but found no water. They are even on the verge of giving up digging. Perhaps, in their minds, they have concluded that certain things are simply not meant for them in this life.

I would like to tell you that this is not so. The number of times each one of us will dig a well before we find water differs from one individual to another. That difference is not a sign of failure. It is simply the nature of the terrain on which you are digging or other factors beyond you.

Think about it. Some people found their life partners from their very first relationship. Some landed their dream job from their first interview. A few sent out fewer than five resumes before they were called, and they never had to look back.

However, for many others and perhaps for you reading this, the journey may have been far longer, far more winding, and far more painful. And yet, the destination is not near. As a start-up, you may have tried to source funding but no success in sight. This article is for you, and you are the reason tenacity is being discussed.

Some years ago, as a middle-level manager, I desperately desired a change of level. I was hungry for growth. I believed I had more to offer. I did what any determined person would do by sending out applications. I sent out over 250 applications in a space of nine months. Those 250 applications yielded some interviews. Unfortunately, none of those interviews led to a job offer but I was not deterred with that.

Imagine the weight of the disappointment. Imagine dusting yourself up, preparing, showing up, performing, and still not getting what you want. I know what that feels like. I am sharing this to let you know you are not alone trying over repeatedly.
In leadership, we talk a great deal about vision, strategy, and execution. However, there is a quality that sits beneath all of these, and it is called tenacity.

Without it, the best strategy in the world will crumble at the first serious obstacle. Howard Schultz built Starbucks into a global empire. He succeeded in buying the company and transforming it. However, he pitched his vision of an Italian-inspired coffeehouse experience to 242 investors. 217 of them said no.

Yet he kept walking into boardrooms and kept adjusting his pitch. He kept digging. Today, Starbucks operates in over 80 countries with more than 35,000 locations. The water was there but he had to keep digging.

For the department head or line manager reading this, the same principle applies in your corner. Perhaps you have submitted a proposal for an initiative three times and it keeps getting shelved. Perhaps you have recommended a team member for promotion twice and have been overruled. Perhaps you have been trying to fix a broken process that everyone else has learned to live with. Do not stop digging. Leadership is not only about the one dramatic moment of breakthrough. It is about the quiet, stubborn, unglamorous act of showing up repeatedly until something gives.

The principle of tenacity does not only apply to individuals. Organizations that endure are those that refuse to stop digging. Netflix is perhaps one of the most instructive examples.

In 2011, the company made a disastrous pricing decision that caused it to lose nearly 800,000 subscribers in a single quarter, and its stock price crashed by over 70 percent. Reed Hastings kept digging. The company absorbed the pain, recalibrated its strategy, invested aggressively in original content. Today, Netflix has over 300 million subscribers globally. They kept digging through the dry seasons until water gushed.

You may be reading this as a CEO wrestling with a board that keeps rejecting your strategic direction. You may be a sales manager who has missed target for three consecutive quarters despite your best efforts. You may be a line supervisor trying to build a cohesive team from a group of people who seem determined to remain divided. You may be applying for scholarships, business grants, political office, or simply trying to get your career off the ground after years of trying. Whatever the context, the instruction is the same: do not stop digging. Make a real, deliberate, and written-down commitment to yourself that you will remain resolute and tenacious in the face of daunting challenges.

Colonel Sanders of KFC was 65 years old when he started franchising his chicken recipe. His now-famous secret recipe was reportedly rejected several times before a single restaurant agreed to take it on. At 65. He kept digging. Today, KFC operates in over 145 countries. The water was there all along. He just had to outlast the dry wells. I would like to close by saying this to you that the fact that you are still reading this tells me that you have not completely given up. There is still a part of you that believes the water is there. Trust that part. Feed that part. Protect it from the voices, both external and internal, and you will soon reach the water in the well.

Oluwole Dada is the General Manager at SecureID Limited, Africa’s largest smart card manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria.