“Into every life a little rain must fall.”

Why adversity actually makes things better..!

It was the comeback to end all comebacks.

I am, of course, referring to the England cricket team’s remarkable consolation victory over South Africa.

Let’s pause for a moment to appreciate the scale of what unfolded.

This wasn’t just any win. England dismantled the tourists by 342 runs, setting a record margin in men’s ODIs and posting the team’s fifth-highest total of all time.

Unfortunately, it didn’t change the overall result. England had already lost the series, with South Africa ultimately winning 2–1. But nonetheless, what a way to finish!

Knowing that the outcome of the series was already decided, it would have been all too easy for England to come out deflated, go through the motions, and quietly accept their fate. Thankfully, they chose to do the opposite. They summoned pride, resilience and determination to transform their earlier disappointment into a statement of intent.

And it was this spectacular victory that got me thinking about the relationship between adversity and success… The late American entrepreneur Jim Rohn once explained it through an American football analogy. Imagine you pick up the ball and run, unopposed, to the end zone. Technically, you’ve scored a touchdown. But would the crowd leap to its feet in rapture? I highly doubt it.

The true drama comes only when you outwit defenders, fend off a barrage of heavy tackles, and still manage to cross the line. That’s when the cheer goes up. Triumph without resistance is hollow; it is the struggle and adversity that make the success more meaningful. It is not just in the sporting arena that lessons in resilience are to be found. The political stage is also rife with examples of those who have overcome some kind of adversity or challenge on their journey to reach the hallowed halls of Westminster. David Blunkett, Diane Abbott, and of course, Angela Rayner spring to mind…

Now that the political dust is beginning to settle around the Angela Rayner Stamp Duty saga, I think most people would admit that to have carved out such a highprofile career from a background as complex and challenging as hers is an extraordinary achievement. A lesson perhaps that where you start matters less than the grit with which you keep moving forward.

But we don’t need to look to international cricket or Westminster to find stories of triumph in the face of adversity. There is plenty of inspiration much closer to home…

UK retailers endured a torrid start to the year, with news story after news story reminding us all that crime rates were through the roof, attacks on staff had skyrocketed, and job cuts were hitting hard. But little by little, I have seen how retailers are coming to grips with their new reality and adapting accordingly. And whilst the sector is still having to navigate significant
challenges, there are positive signs afoot.

New figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) earlier this week show that retail sales increased by 3.1% in August, largely thanks to the warm weather and Bank of England interest rate cut. I believe it is important to take a moment to reflect and celebrate successes like this – especially when they follow a period of turmoil.

At last week’s Retail Risk – On The Move, which I had the privilege of chairing, I was bowled over by the sheer number of success stories that had been born in response to difficult challenges. Far from being paralysed in the face of adversity, I was encouraged to see the risk management community coming together to tackle freight crime and achieving some brilliant results in the process.

The path to success rarely runs smoothly, and I am sure we have all had to overcome trials and tribulations at some point in our business or personal lives. I know I certainly have. Running any business is demanding, and there will always be challenges along the way. But over the course of my career, I have discovered that sometimes you have to go through these testing moments and come out the other side to know what real success looks like.

Let us not forget the story of ASEL’s American paymaster, Frank A. Argenbright Jr. From humble beginnings in a small Florida town, and hindered early on by undiagnosed learning disabilities, Frank cultivated an indomitable determination that propelled him to build an extraordinary business legacy.

So my message to you, dear reader, is this: do not see adversity as something to fear, but as a stepping stone on the path to success. And perhaps take guidance from Rudyard Kipling, who in his poem If reminds us: If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same…

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

It’s a sentiment that cricket understands better than most. After all, one day you’re celebrating a record breaking win, the next you’re nursing the sting of a series defeat. The real measure of character lies not in avoiding the lows, but in how you respond to them. And as any cricket fan will tell you, sometimes you have to be three wickets down for 20 before you discover what you’re truly made of…

Dan Hardy

CEO