Monday, February 16, 2009

Voices


We all have these voices that kick in, usually at moments of extremity. It’s the ones that start
when we have had a bad day, a bad week, or a bad even longer that can, if they are allowed, do the damage.

It’s grim enough that we have been told our working week has been cut, or that we have lost our job, or to realise that we left a good job only to find there is nothing out there to replace it. All these things happen and then the voices put the boot in and try to make things even worse.

“Surely you could have seen that your hours would be cut without just waiting for it to happen”
“The writing was on the wall for your job months ago, why didn’t you start looking for something last September?”
“Oh well, that was really stupid to walk out of well paid work with no job to go to. That is your own fault!”

So we have to teach these voices a lesson, we have to quieten them down. One good way is to change our immediate paradigm by going out for a long walk, by visiting a favourite gallery or by calling in some favours from trusted friends. And then when we are in a more resourceful frame of mind, we plan strategy for recovery, we write down all the specific things that we are going to do and when we are going to do them. It can always help to have a little support from people we know that are trustworthy.

Sometimes we just have to ask.

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posted by Tim @ 8:55 AM 0 Comments

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Experts

Sometimes top people in organisations try to do it all by themselves.

I worked with an MD recently who has presided over four consecutive years’ losses. He had three ineffectual co directors and refused to listen or take advice from them or anyone else. He is one of those people that can speak strongly and authoritatively about things that he knows very little about, such as marketing strategy. He had recently masterminded a disastrous premises move, whilst at the same time allowing an almost total lack of financial control.

Nido Quebein, the author, speaker and consultant extraordinaire was speaking at a convention in Florida. One of the two and a half thousand delegates asked him the question, “If you had your time all over again, what would you do differently?”

He answered, “I would go to, and pay, experts sooner”

So why hadn’t my client actually gone to anyone before now? Well it could be due to a lack of self esteem, it could be a sort of “I know best” arrogance, or maybe he just didn’t trust anyone.

We all have to look for and develop relationships based upon trust if we are going to grow and develop.

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posted by Tim @ 5:38 AM 0 Comments