Winning in a crisis

No matter which sector you work in, from time to time chaos ensues.  Unexpected events mean the normal rules are throw out the window; stability is replaced by crisis, normality by a battle for survival.  There will be winners and losers; some will emerge stronger, others will be lucky to survive.

Under these circumstances, is it better to be the “best prepared going in” or to be the “best prepared to react as the dust settles”?

Is all lost if you weren’t ready, if you hadn’t anticipated the emerging risks, or if events develop so quickly that you’re caught off guard?

You can’t turn back the clock.  It’s how you respond that counts… you can take action to turn the odds in your favour.  You may not be the best prepared, but you may be able to turn yourselves into the best prepared to succeed.  Dig in!

The right things

You have to believe that if you keep doing the right things then good things will happen.

The challenge is to notice when the world moves on and the right things are no longer right.

New Year’s Resolution

Why not give yourself a chance with your New Year’s Resolution this year?

Select a simple, easily achievable goal. Choose something that you have to do, but you’ve been putting off.

Once you’ve accomplished it, select another one.

Build some momentum… get on a roll…  see where it takes you.

Losing your confidence

When you have it, it’s just part of the way you are. It’s not something you pay attention to, have to work to develop or protect… it’s just there.

If you lose it it becomes obvious by its absence.  It may not be obvious to others but for you it will feel like it left a gaping hole filled with uncertainty.  Having initially been specific, targeted on one aspect of life, the uncertainty can spread over time.

The downward spiral may have been the result of an initial trigger or event but is quickly forgotten as mundane day to day events become effected.  Alternatively, it may be the culmination of a long term decline.  Either way, there is nowhere to hide.

Recognising how you’re feeling is a start.  Once you recognise it you can start to develop strategies to deal with it.

You feel different.  You’ve changed.  It feels like you’ve lost something, but in many ways the changes may be positive; you may be more open, more sensitive, more aware, more deliberate.

Where will your new skills take you?

Head in the sand

The problem with the “head in the sand” approach to problem resolution is that, even for the most expert protagonists, the problem generally tends to still be there when normal business resumes.

Ignoring problems may seem like an attractive way of avoiding having to deal with them but at best it’s only effective as a delaying tactic.  Often the delay achieves little more than to magnify the problem and increase the potential consequences.

However much we’d like to be able to wave a magic wand and make problems disappear, the only effective way of dealing with them is by dealing with them… worth remembering the next time you are tempted to look around for somewhere to hide.