Yesterday marked an anniversary of the D-Day invasions where Operation Overlord was launched to beat the Nazis and ultimately saved us all.  I was thinking about this yesterday, and once again it got me thinking about the mental approach that those young men had in their minds.  Moreover, those left behind would no doubt have to have had the same attitude too, the attitude of never giving up.  The approach for our whole nation was never to give up as they faced overwhelming odds which ultimately saved us all.

I believe we can take this mentality and put it in our normal working practice as a manager and lives.

When facing challenges – Never give up, just because things appear difficult or hard doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.  We can achieve anything if we put our mind to it.  When the actual goal or target appears massive, break it down into manageable bitesize chunks.

When dealing with staff – Never give up on staff, many managers do this and this reinforces negative behaviour.  Look for opportunities when staff do things correct and tell them.  Staff that work together are a brilliant force.

Dreams and ambitions – Never give up on yourself.  You and I know how fantastic you are, you really are.  You deserve to be the best and you deserve the best of everything. Have bold dreams and put them into reality.

Values – Never give up on your values or the values of your team or organisation.  Values are so important and they provide us with the rules on how we are going to operate.

But sometimes we have to change - Not giving up isn’t being blinkered into thinking we are always right. Sometimes we may have to change the way do things or discover an alternative route.  This isn’t giving up it’s being effective; there is nothing wrong with admitting mistakes or changing routes.

Never give up in work, at home or in life.  We owe it to everyone who sacrificed their lives for us so we can make the best of ours.

Ralph Moody is the founder of Target Training and specialises in trainer and management development.  You can read more about him here.  To see courses where Ralph delivers see our website here.