I’ve previously pointed out that in Scouting, as in life, things don’t always go the way you expect them to – and that, in fact, Scouting is designed to be a safe place to fail. Plus, Scouting is best done outdoors, where the vagaries of the weather also come into play. As a result, Scouts can either learn to adjust to reality and still keep their spirits up, or else get used to being miserable.

There was the May campout a few years ago where it fell to freezing, the wind was ferocious, and we got snow. Now, being in Michigan, we pretty much all came prepared for it to be cold even though it was supposed to be spring. Still, I really thought we’d have a lot of Scouts retreating to their tents and hunkering down.

But this particular outing happened to be one of our favorite annual trips, to the dunes along the Lake Michigan shore. So the Scouts were having none of that. Despite the cold, wind, and snow, they spent most of their time up on the dunes, having a ball. They build enormous campfires at our campsite and when they got too cold, they gathered around them until they thawed, then went back out to do it all again. It was marvelous.

On another outing not too long ago, we were “camping” aboard a WWII ship called an LST (“Landing Ship, Tank”) – a D-Day veteran vessel used to transport vehicles and troops to the landing beaches. It’s now a floating military museum. Part of our package was supposed to be a full day at a nearby adventure park. Unfortunately, there was a scheduling glitch and that part fell through. We decided instead to spend the day at our area’s BSA camp a short drive away, doing a bit of hiking but also performing some service work to help clear trees that had been downed in the campsites by a recent storm. The Scouts worked their tails off, but we still got back to the ship far earlier than we’d originally planned. Again, I feared some discontent over the whole situation. Instead, the Scouts shook off their fatigue, and with a mix of perusing the museum displays and exploring every square inch of the ship, they enjoyed themselves immensely. Some said it was their favorite campout ever.

With all the learning from Scouts adapting to setbacks and still having fun, I’ve worked to make my business world the same way. Too often I’ve seen leaders get upset and angry when things don’t go according to plan. In doing so they make their own lives, and the lives of everyone around them, miserable. Why? Our world is never going to be perfect. We may not make as many mistakes as young Scouts, but we’ll make them. When things go wrong, isn’t it better to do as the Scouts do – take a step back, make new plans, adapt to the situation and still have fun?

This pandemic is the perfect time to try. Even the Scouts are having to adapt in whole new ways – virtual Patrol meetings, home merit badge sessions, and distance advancement work, for example. And they still seem to make it all fun. Let’s do the same in our business lives.