Thursday, February 26, 2009

Waiting for the World to Return to Normal [Kimberly Wiefling]

How many of you are waiting for the world to "return to normal?" I sometimes catch myself thinking, "Once the economy improves I can do this," or "As soon as the terrorist threat is dealt with I will do that." These thoughts amuse me. As a wise sage once said, "You can never dip your toe into the same river twice." The world has been forever changed by the events of the past year. THIS is the world we live in now. It certainly will change. But it won't change BACK.

I hear a lot about businesses that are "hunkering down", but I don’t understand why. I can't think of a less empowering stance at this time. If anything, now is the time for dramatic leadership, creativity and renewal. Rather than waiting to find the light at the end of the tunnel, how about exploring what new possibilities exist IN the tunnel? Let's realize that the light at the end is NOT necessarily an oncoming train, but IS often just a break BETWEEN tunnels. I say "learn to love the tunnel."

What can businesses do? How about creating a life-affirming company culture that becomes a competitive advantage? Roughly 60% of employees don't like their jobs and feel no commitment towards the goals of their company. What if corporate leaders decided to engage the enormous untapped power of their employees to create their next business opportunity, rather than merely waiting for the rising tide that lifts all boats?

The book, "First Break All the Rules," based on a Gallup Poll study of almost 200,000 workers, outlines very simply and beautifully how to help people bring their best efforts to the workplace. It costs businesses little time and almost no money. It can be as simple as ensuring that employees know what is expected of them, and then providing them with the tools they need to do their jobs. It also means expressing a sincere "thank you" for a job well done. Not rocket science.

We are all creating the world we live in each moment. What kind of world shall we create next? Let's make this moment count. As an insurance ad once said: "Life is a tornado watch. You can hunker down in the basement, or you can stand on the roof, let the wind give you rock star hair and yell "I KNEW you were coming, that's why I didn't rake the leaves!"

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Kimberly Wiefling , author of Scrappy Project Management – The 12 Predictable and Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces, hovering among the top project management books in the USA since launch in 2007. She is the founder of Wiefling Consulting, a scrappy global business leadership consultancy committed to enabling her clients to successfully tackle seemingly impossible goals. For the past 3 years she has collaborated with ALC Education, Inc., in Tokyo, working primarily with Japanese companies committed to becoming truly global through transformational leadership and execution with excellence. "

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