Remember Why You Started

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
- Albert Einstein

Grey, not Black and White
Think back to when you finally broke through and landed that first big job. Whether it was in leadership or not, you soon realized two important things:
- the greater the responsibility you have, the greater the impact you can make
- the greater the responsibility you have, the greater the pressure coming at you from all directions

Finding the balance between the these two things, and not losing your energy and enthusiasm can be a challenge!

The pressure, unclear road ahead, changing dynamics in the workplace, and self-talk inspired depression can often get in the way of why you started down this path in the first place.

Acceptance and Action
There is a fairly straightforward way to deal with these pressures however; one that is often overlooked.

Accept them.

Whether or not something "should be this way" or "should be that way" we must accept the reality that the world is not going to operate exactly the way we think it should.

Accept them.

Feeling frustrated with our colleagues once in a while, wishing we could have avoided a communication failure, or believing we should have removed a poor performer sooner are all normal. Getting ourselves all worked up however, or worse, spending extra time lamenting it all is incredibly counterproductive.

"When we accept the fact that the world of work is never going to be perfect, we free ourselves to remember why we were so excited about work in the first place." 

There are still many opportunities to make a difference. 
There are endless chances to impact another person's life. 
There are no limits to what we can do.

How About You
What is getting in your way as you think about work? Have you allowed yourself to become so frustrated that you spend your days feeling down and depressed? Or, will you decide to accept that we all have our failings, but they should never stand in the way of why we love what we do?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Progress Trumps Resolutions

So the new year is upon us...lame resolutions have been proclaimed...and right on schedule are now broken and discarded. I'm not a big fan of annual declarations of how we're going to transform our lives from our wish list to reality. I am a big fan however, of making progress.

Realistic
What is happening in your world right now...personally...professionally? What needs to get done this year? If you had to prioritize the most important projects at work, what would they be? Take a moment and think about them. What are they? When do they need to be accomplished? What are the consequences of not getting them done?

You can document them here.

What about at home? What needs to get done this year? Are you as fit as you would like to be? Do you have any major decisions that are overdue and need to be addressed in 2014? Open up that same app and document those items too.

Progress
Once you know what needs to get done versus your fantasy wish list that evaporates by January 7th, you can start taking action. Remember, the key is that you make progress, not that you accomplish everything on your list by the end of January.

If your work has become more and more complex, then perhaps getting organized will be a huge step forward this year. Not only will that help you feel more in control, but you will be amazed at how productive you will be. 

If you are not as healthy or fit as you need to be, then follow the same strategy. Get organized, do some research, check out the #hrfitcrew hashtag and start on a path that helps you make progress. 

Patience is required. Commitment is required. Putting pressure on yourself to look like Shaun T or Jillian Michaels is not.

How About You
How are you going to make progress this year? Are you going to re-frame success as a series of positive steps forward; or, is it still an all-or-nothing-guaranteed-to-fail-option in the first week of the year? I'm big into this issue, so if you'd ever like to strategize a bit let me know.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



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Patience Drives Progress

I grew up in a world of drive through "restaurants", microwave dinners and Convenience Stores with hot dogs on a rotisserie available 24/7.  I can barely remember a world without the Internet, haven't used a fax machine in years, and would prefer to receive a [Direct] Message than email anytime.  Simply put, I like my stuff now.  Not in a minute, not in a little while... I want what I want NOW.

Work is Not a Microwave
There are no quick wins, really.  Yes, we love to brainstorm and convince ourselves we've come up with an amazing idea that will change the organization, country, world...whatever.  Coming up with an idea is one thing; however, executing on that idea that actually results in moving the needle is very different.  Candidly, without that great idea no progress can occur.  But we need to be realistic...dare I say strategic in our thinking and execution if we are to achieve progress.


In his book Onward, Howard Schultz describes how he tried to get a quick win as he transitioned back into the ceo role at Starbucks Coffee Company.  He tried, failed and then slowed down to take a more strategic view of turning his company around. He embraced the notion of being strategic, while still having a sense of urgency about the work being done.  Being bold, and expecting everything to be perfect right away are two very different things.


HR Should Be Strategic
Time for a moment of self-disclosure.  I'm tired of people saying how lame it is for HR to be talking about being strategic.  We're supposed to be.  We're supposed to be putting plans in place for the short and long term.  We're supposed to be thinking well beyond the current benefits/recruitment/training/political-hot-potato-of-the-day crisis and delivering value to our organizations.  So if you're taking the easy way out and jumping on the HR bashing train against being strategic, it's time to switch professions.


How About You
Be patient with your ideas.  Think through them, spend time testing them, and then make a decision and act on them.  Being patient and then being decisive is a potent combination.  Being trapped in a world of analysis paralysis and excuses is also a potent combination.  Which path do you take?  I'm glad I switched.


I'd love to hear from you.


No Excuses.




pic courtesy of kaboodle