The power of being relentless

In boardrooms and classrooms alike, we celebrate brilliance. We admire the visionary, the gifted speaker, the prodigy with effortless command of numbers. But in my experience, it is not brilliance that finishes important work. It is relentlessness.

Years ago, I worked with a mentor on a case-writing project on management and finance in ASEAN, funded by an international organization. The proposal alone took nearly three years to get approved. Three years of revisions, clarifications, tightened frameworks, reworked budgets, and refined objectives. There were moments when abandoning the effort would have seemed rational. After all, opportunity cost is real.

But my mentor would not let go. He kept urging us: revise again, sharpen the logic, make the value proposition undeniable. When approval finally came, the harder part began — field interviews, validation, rewriting, editing. The work stretched on. We finished not because we were the most brilliant team in the room, but because he was relentless.

Psychologist Angela Duckworth’s research on “grit” — defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals — suggests that sustained effort over time predicts achievement beyond raw talent. In a widely cited 2007 study, grit helped explain why some individuals persisted and succeeded in demanding environments even after controlling for ability. The effect sizes are not magical. But they are real. Relentlessness compounds.

At the same time, later research cautions against oversimplifying grit as a cure-all. Structural barriers matter. Resources matter. Context matters. Perseverance alone cannot fix broken systems. Still, within the zone of control we possess — our habits, discipline, and response to setbacks — relentlessness remains a decisive advantage.

History is full of accomplishments that would not have existed without it.

Before SpaceX became synonymous with private space travel, its Falcon 1 rocket failed three consecutive launches between 2006 and 2008. The company was reportedly near collapse before the fourth launch finally succeeded. Had the team stopped at failure number three, there would have been no turnaround story to tell.

J.K. Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter was rejected multiple times before being accepted. Thomas Edison famously reframed thousands of unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb as data points — ways that would not work.

These stories risk becoming clichés. But their lesson is not romance. It is iteration. Progress often sits just beyond the point where most people quit.

Relentlessness is not stubbornness for its own sake. It is disciplined persistence anchored on purpose. It is the ability to endure boredom after excitement fades. It is the maturity to accept feedback without losing conviction.

So how does one cultivate a relentless spirit — especially in professional life, where fatigue and distraction are constants?

First, anchor yourself to a clear “why.” Goals without meaning collapse under pressure. When you know who benefits from your work — students, clients, institutions, communities — quitting becomes costlier than continuing.

Second, institutionalize iteration. Treat Version 12 not as embarrassment but as improvement. Many projects fail not because the idea was weak, but because the team was unwilling to refine.

Third, pre-decide your response to obstacles. Behavioral research on implementation intentions shows that specifying “If X happens, I will do Y” improves follow-through. If a proposal is rejected, revise within 72 hours. If a chapter stalls, write 300 words anyway. Relentlessness thrives on structured response, not emotional reaction.

Fourth, seek feedback early. Relentless professionals are not defensive. They are data-driven. Critique is information, not insult.

Fifth, protect stamina. Sleep, health, and rhythm are not indulgences. They are infrastructure. You cannot finish well if you cannot return tomorrow.

Finally, surround yourself with accountability. Relentlessness is easier in community. A team that refuses to let each other quit multiplies individual resolve.

In business, finance, and public life, we often overvalue flashes of genius and undervalue quiet endurance. Yet organizations are built by those who stay with difficult reforms, who keep refining policy proposals, who pursue long-term transformation despite early resistance.

Relentlessness does not guarantee success. But its absence almost guarantees unfinished work.

When I think back to that ASEAN case-writing project, I do not primarily remember the grant approval letter. I remember the character formed in the process — the discipline to revise, the humility to improve, the refusal to abandon a worthy objective because it was taking too long.

In a culture increasingly addicted to speed and instant results, perhaps the real competitive advantage is not brilliance at all.

It is the capacity to stay — to refine, to endure, to finish.

Relentlessness, in the end, is less about force and more about fidelity: fidelity to purpose, to standards, and to the quiet promise that what we begin, we will see through.

The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX.

Benel Dela Paz Lagua was previously EVP and chief development officer at the Development Bank of the Philippines. He is an active FINEX member and an advocate of risk-based lending for SMEs. Today, he is independent director in progressive banks and in some NGOs.