Ep 323 | The Space Between Stimulus and Response

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Before we dive in today, I would just like to remind everybody that if you like all that you're hearing at the No Days Off podcast, I would very much appreciate if you'd share your favorite episodes with your peers, with your coworkers, with your family. We are trying to grow this No Days Off Nation. We've been working pretty diligently over the past 300+ episodes to do so. And really, this podcast grows as quickly as our fans, our nation, share it with their peers, with others. And so, I want you to know how much I appreciate it, and I want to encourage you to continue to share. It means the world to me. On that note, I want to talk a little bit about stimulus and response. Viktor Frankl, who is a renowned psychiatrist and a Holocaust survivor, he's probably best known for a book that I've gifted more than any other book, and that is Man's Search for Meaning. If you have not read Man's Search for Meaning, you absolutely should at some point in your life. In this book, Viktor Frankl explores the concept of the space between stimulus and response. He explores many concepts, but he talks around the space between stimulus and response. I'm going to explain what that means here in a moment. See, Viktor was a Holocaust survivor. He was, he was in a concentration camp and he experienced I guess some of the greatest— not a guess— some of the greatest atrocities, some of the greatest pain, some of the greatest just horrible, horrible things. And, and while he could have just kind of given into his struggle, Viktor Frankl did things a little bit differently. See, Viktor recognized that there was this space between stimulus and response, and stimulus refers to any event or situation that provokes a reaction or response. So stimulus is any event or situation that provokes a reaction or response. A response is the reaction or action taken in reaction to the stimulus. So you've got this stimulus, you've got something that would normally provoke a reaction, and then you've got a response, which is of course the reaction to that stimulus. Now there's a space, there's a gap between stimulus and response. And Viktor Frankl emphasized that, that this gap, this space lies our power. Within this space lies our power to choose our response. In other words, while we may not always have control over the events or the, the stimulus that happen, that happens to us, we have control over how we respond. To those events. And this concept, this idea that Viktor Frankl talks about, highlights the human capacity for self-awareness and self-determination. Now, I think there's lots of things that make this insight of Viktor Frankl's an incredible one. You know, this insight about the space between stimulus and response. It's critical, it's crucial for a number of reasons. Number one, I think it underscores the idea that individuals are responsible for their own actions and their own reactions, regardless of external circumstances. Here at No Days Off, we've said many a time, and you've probably heard it outside of No Days Off, you've gotta control the controllables. See, events happen, stimulus happen, stimuli happen, whether we choose for them to happen or not. We usually do not have control over a number of different stimuli. We do, however, have a responsibility, have the ability for us to, to, to channel or to react as we see fit, regardless of external circumstances. So I think this, this space between stimulus and response is crucial for personal response, for, for the reason being personal responsibility. We are responsible for our actions and our reactions. Now, next, I think recognizing this space between, between stimulus and response empowers us to choose our responses thoughtfully and intentionally rather than reacting impulsively or automatically. In other words, we are empowered. We have empowerment when we embrace the space between stimulus and response. We also have freedom. See, Viktor Frankl believed that this ability to choose your response is a fundamental aspect of human freedom. And it's actually one thing that kept him alive while facing the harsh reality of a concentration camp. See, mentally, he recognized that while physically, you know, what was going to happen to him was going to happen to him, he knew mentally that he was free. He got to choose his response even in the most oppressive and dire circumstances. Lastly, when we think about, you know, this, this space between stimulus and response and why it's so crucial to understand, you know, this insight, I think by choosing how to respond, we as individuals can find meaning. We can find purpose even in suffering, which is what Viktor Frankl did. This was central to his philosophy. It was even therapeutic. And when you read the book, you'll understand it was a therapeutic approach for him. So there was meaning and there was purpose. Now, Viktor Frankl developed and refined these, these ideas during this imprisonment in, in the concentration camp. And he had imaginal, unimaginable suffering and loss, and he observed so many individuals that, that couldn't find meaning or just gave up on life, gave up, you know, their freedom altogether. But Viktor Frankl realized that some individuals could find meaning and maintain a sense of inner freedom by choosing their attitudes and by choosing their responses to their circumstances. This ability to choose response was a key factor in survival and was especially a key factor in psychological resilience. So why am I talking about this today? Aside from the fact that Viktor Frankl is absolutely amazing, and I think the book, uh, Man's Search for Meaning, is something we all should read, I think there's a— I think there's a daily application to what I'm describing here, this space between stimulus and response. In practical terms, it can be applied. We can apply this concept every single day because it encourages slowing down and encourages reflection and encourages mindfulness. It allows for us to pause and consider our options before acting, or I should say reacting, and maybe even overreacting. As a result, we can be more constructive, we can be more positive, the outcomes can be more positive in personal and in professional settings and interactions. So Viktor Frankl's distinction between stimulus and response and the space between emphasizes the human capacity for choice, the human capacity for freedom and for finding meaning and just no matter what dealing with in external conditions that could be dire, you still have that freedom. You still have that freedom to make choice. There's lots of great examples as to where this has shown up in business. One, one, one place I, I was thinking about earlier today was at Starbucks, of all places. Howard Schultz, the CEO, uh, when he responded to economic crisis in 2007-2008 Starbucks had major economic challenges. Sales were plummeting, stock price was plummeting dramatically. Analysts and investors were skeptical of the company's future. Believe it or not, some people thought Starbucks wouldn't survive the economic crisis. Sounds crazy to say when you think about how many Starbucks there are these days, but in 2008, every business was at risk. The economic downturn created a severe threat to Starbucks's business. And there was pressure to cut costs, pressure to close stores, pressure to lay people off. But Howard Schultz, who was the CEO, he took a different approach. Instead of reacting with panic and making drastic moves and cost-cutting measures, he actually focused on the company's core values and long-term vision. He decided to invest in improving the customer experience, in training his people, and in innovating the Starbucks product line. See, he demonstrated the power of the space between stimulus and response because many business leaders around him, you know, when they had the stimulus, when they saw the, the economy start to plummet, they reacted and they didn't take time And, and they didn't embrace the space between the stimulus and the response, but Schultz did, and he chose to reaffirm the company's mission and invest in its people and its products rather than making short-term reactionary decisions. Now, what came of this? Starbucks not only survived the economic crisis but emerged even stronger. The company, which had lost some customer loyalty and trust, regained it. It improved its employee morale when, when employees saw companies cutting their staff, but Starbucks not doing the same, morale changed for those employees. They were grateful for the company, and its stock price significantly recovered. Now, Schultz's approach was, was based on really his belief in the importance of aligning business decisions with core values and long-term goals, even in the face of adversity. And if he had not taken that space between stimulus and response, he may not have made the decisions that he made. Now, there are countless examples of where this shows up. I think the focusing question for you today: where do you have to create a bit more space between stimulus and response? How good are you at this? How can you improve? We talk a ton here at No Days Off about controlling the controllables and about being patient. A lot easier said than done. But as we mature in our business careers, as we mature as leaders, we all can agree that one thing we can continue to improve at is our ability to slow things down, be a bit more patient, focus on what we can control, remove emotion from the equation, and make objective decisions with long— with a long-term vision in mind. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.