Shift

Chapter 7It Will Rain on Your Parade: Mitigating and adapting to events beyond your control

“Only when the tide goes out do you see who has been swimming naked.”

– Warren Buffett

Picture the scene. You're on a family holiday in a seaside resort in England. We all know it's always a gamble with the weather – will you get a week of glorious sunshine and warm temperatures, enjoying sunny days at the beach where the biggest worry is how long you'll have to queue to buy the kids ice cream? Or will you keep getting caught in deluges and spend your days huddled behind a windbreak at the beach, wrapped in towels and all the clothing you took with you while the kids race in and out of the sea before eventually getting cold?

Az grew up in a seaside town, and his first job was working in Britain's largest joke shop. For this shop, the holiday season was crucial, a time when it had the large majority of its business. Of course, just like those on holiday, the one thing this business couldn't control was the weather.

Let's go back to your family at the beach. You're huddled behind a windbreak and there are threatening grey clouds building on the horizon. Eventually, you give up and bundle the kids back to the car just as it starts to rain. You're camping, so the prospect of going back to the campsite and hiding in the tent isn't overly appealing. Instead you decide to wander into the town and browse in the shops. This is what the majority of other holidaymakers have decided to do too. ...