Despite common belief, patience is not a passive quality.

Patience means being committed. Devotion and dedication are necessary to stay in a situation long enough, to make the uncomfortable feel comfortable, to push away the instict of moving on to something else that might look more appealing in the moment. A patient person might look like somebody who has given up, and yet deep down they are decisively in.

Patience also means being aware. Knowing what is going on, proactively seeking for signals, interpreting the situation and learning from it. It is more than merely waiting, as it involves a conscious cognitive work aimed at collecting information about one’s sorroundings in order to effectively understand.

If you look at patience through this lens, then it should be easy to understand how crucial it can be in business and, more generally, in life.