There’s an old Japanese proverb that says, It’s better to be a warrior in the garden than a gardener in the war.
That one hits. Especially in the world of business, where things can feel calm until suddenly, they’re not. Projects go sideways. Leadership changes. Priorities shift. A vendor drops the ball. That nice peaceful garden? One meeting later, you’re in the middle of a battlefield.
And that’s when you find out who’s ready.
Prepared People Aren’t Paranoid. They’re Pros.
The “warrior in the garden” types are the ones who:
- Anticipate risk instead of being blindsided
- Keep receipts and documentation even when no one’s asking
- Build flexible systems so change doesn’t wreck everything
- Practice clear communication in the calm times, not just the crisis
They don’t prepare out of fear. They prepare because experience has taught them that chaos is inevitable, and it favors the prepared.
It’s easy to coast when things are quiet. It’s also lazy.
The Garden Isn’t Forever
Every team eventually hits adversity. And when that moment comes, you want warriors. Not finger-pointers. Not people asking who owns what. Not people who’ve been hiding in the bushes, waiting for someone else to fix it.
You want people who:
- Step up, not back
- Stay calm under pressure
- Know how to move with purpose when the stakes are high
Because when things go wrong, and they will, you can’t grow a backbone on the fly.
Final Thought
Being ready for the hard times doesn’t make you cynical. It makes you capable. It’s not pessimism. It’s preparation.
And in the end, it’s way better to be sharpening your tools in the sunshine than scrambling to borrow someone else’s when the storm hits.
Be the warrior. Even in the garden.
