Did you know a citadel is a fortified inner city providing protection?

But did you know it’s not just a term to be used in protection of a city?

It’s also a term in business to be considered when agreeing your values, which are the rules of the game that you will uphold when interacting with customers and colleagues

The Inner Citadel is a fortress around your innermost self, so that all the things we cannot control, are powerless against our higher sense of will and reason.

When faced with adversity of any kind, be it an annoying colleague, a supplier who’s been overcharging or office equipment which needs replacing and is no longer up to the job.

The common reaction is a combination of anger, fear, disbelief, sorrow, confusion, and helplessness.

We blame others or our environment for the misfortunes that befall us. But the only thing that is causing the issue, is usually our own perception and approach to the problem.

The goal is to first change our perception of obstacles, not letting them disturb us, and then turning them around and using them to our advantage.

This is much more than just positive thinking. Obstacles make us work harder, look for weak spots, find new trusted suppliers, identify rules that may be bent, and much more.

Top-level performers deliberately put themselves into very specific adverse situations, because it makes them search harder to come up with better solutions.

Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor from 161 to 180, citadel cultivator, a stoic philosopher, and a prolific writer of deep-thinking quotes, a famous one being:

“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly”.

“They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognised that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own – not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine”.

“And so, none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural.”

Marcus Aurelius created an inner citadel within him, which protected his inner beliefs from being tainted from others, who were dishonest and intent on causing mischief and harm.

Like building a great team, you want them to bond together with shared values of honesty and integrity, which lead them to do the right thing in support of their colleagues & customers.

In this example, the team create that inner citadel and no matter what happens, how difficult the situation may be, their inner beliefs lead them to keep their integrity and be honest with others.

This is a great virtue, and one that we’re proud to say our own team uphold. No matter how difficult or uncomfortable the situation may be, we’ll always be honest with our colleagues and customers.

…our inner citadel will keep us true because people can handle and deserve the truth.