7 Habits to Change

Or how to turn the demands of change into powerful growth.

In this tough economy and ever more complex global experience, many of us feel extreme pressure. Here are 7 habits that can help you swing through change and land on a new situation.

Listen to the new reality. 

Your memory of the old status quo can have a powerful effect on your imagination for the future. When you listen to and really hear the new situation you can begin to spot the new opportunities. Give your new reality and new future a chance.

Expand your network, your skills, and your self-concept.
Old relationships emphasize an old and perhaps now outdated concept of you. Keep your supporters close-by while you make relationships that are appropriate to the changing set of circumstances. Develop new skills that can help you flourish. Get excited about the new you.

Test Drive different scenarios.

Experiment just a little. Try something else – maybe even a bit provocative. Whether you try on a new outfit, let go of your old authority, or just work in an unusual location you will experience a sensation of uncertainty. Practice this until you are no longer bothered by the sensation.

Imagine.

Direct your daydreams.  Let yourself fantasize how successful you are in this new scenario. Imagine what your surroundings, friends, clothes and your skills look like. Create multiple options. And don’t worry if you imagine an argument, it tells you where you might find the next challenge.

Take care.
Real transformation is incredibly hard work. You are changing your relationships, your status, and your self-concept – the entire story. Whether it’s a beer with a friend or a back massage, get the rejuvenation you need to carry on.

Go for the goal.
Remember, you are not merely responding to change. You are also growing for your own purpose. You can pick and choose your direction. Consider what inspires and motivates you. You’re going to send your energies there anyway so connect your vision to your inspiration and get juiced by it.

Open up.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic, or maybe for you it does. Just be open to the new. Try a new food, take a chance on a new acquaintance, or get a new haircut. You might like it or you might not. What’s important is that you give it a go.

It’s the only way to grow.

7 Ways to Give and Grow Business this Holiday Season

The economy is in a train wreck and it's Christmas, Hanukkah and Winter Solstice. Ugh.  If this isn't a time for some positive Yellow Hat thinking, I don't know what is. For the uninitiated in 6 Hat Thinking, the Yellow Hat focuses on values and benefits. Why something may work.

So in the spirit of holiday giving, here are 7 ways to give positive energy to co-workers, displaced workers and business in general. And it won't cost you one red cent. 

7 Ways to Make it Work.

1. Write a real referral. Whether it's on linkedin.com, Google maps, or just an email, take 15 minutes to write a brief, succinct and honest referral for a co-worker or a business you like. Who wouldn't want to receive that?
2. Send along a job idea. If you're trolling through Monster.com or happen to hear of an opportunity that reminds you of someone else, pass it along. It doesn't matter if it's perfect, it matters that you are connecting dots.
3. Get really social. Jump on Twitter, Facebook, linkedin and any other social network that makes sense. It costs nothing, expands your network and is also entertaining, which is nice to get for free, especially this year.
4. Ask Questions and write Answers on linkedin. Stimulate the conversation. Join the party. Toot your horn and someone else's too. Be spirited. Lively.
5. Volunteer your time on a charity board. It's another way to make connections, keep your skills sharp and do good in your community. And it beats staring into the abyss with the Grinch.
6. Give some of your talent. Whether you critique a resume, help someone network or donate your time to their business development it can help keep the business engines humming. 
7. Build ideas up. It's easy to Black Hat any idea but in this economy we need builders so when the next person suggests an idea, whether for a job or a new business, deliberately scour your brain for the positive outcomes. Light it up for the holiday season. 

Seeking out the positive possibilities is honest work. Donating your time and talent is a real gift. Finding the benefits of a new situation or new idea is not always spotting the obvious. But if you can do it, it pays.

Happy Holidays

12 Questions to Guide You Forward

Have you lost a job, a co-worker?

Is your spouse out of work?

Are you feeling like your world is crumbling?

Here's a list of questions that can help get you back on track and prepared to refocus on positive possibilities. As always, writing your answers brings greater clarity by pushing your imaginative brain through your analytical side

12 Quick Questions to Guide Your Forward

1. What's the truth about this situation?
2. What am I most eager to resolve?
3. What I have I lost in this change?
4. How do I feel about this loss?
5. What do I lose if I don't transform?
6. What is the worst that could happen if I fail?
7. What is the best that could happen if I succeed?
8. Why have I not made this change before?
9. Why do I have more choices now?
10. Who and what will support me through this transformation?
11. What are three possible positive outcomes as a result of this change?
12. Which of these possible positive outcomes excites me the most?

We do not control the global economy, national economy, our industry and usually don't control the company we work for even if we're in senior management. But we can make choices about our reactions and thoughts that can can keep us energize and creating new opportunities.

It is shocking when our status, relationships, roles and self-concept are swept away. We mourn, berate, fume and cloud our thinking with dark emotions and imaginings. We need to engage the change and become the creators of our own opportunities.

 I wish you an exciting future and hope you'll write and let me now of your discoveries and your outcomes.

Social Networking and the Status Quo

Innovation brings change. Change is growth. And growth as we all know is profitable.

Innovation and Change are like two ballroom dancers. When Innovation comes along, we respond by changing. When change - like this economic situation - comes along, we must either innovate or we're left out of the dance.

Change is:

• Outside the norm
• Dynamic
• Has an unknown outcome

Innovation is:

• All of the above
• Imaginative
• Intelligent
• Engaging

Social networking is both change and innovation depending on whether or not you engage.

The status quo of business relationships is in constant motion and the rhythm is quickening. It has gone from lunches and golf games to emails, blogs and tweets. Early adapters are already zooming around their networks adding links, widgets, gadgets and as many other value-adds as they can conjure.

But many are adapting more slowly, uncertain of their footing in this new arena.

How do these tools function?

How do I manage my personal brand?

What is the value to my business?

How do I begin to measure value?

Anyone retreating from or resisting social networking is tied to an old status quo and in the throws of a typical change scenario. Relationships, self-concept and status are in-play. And social networking is very transparent. So branding whether personal or corporate has to be managed in a new way.  This feels risky.

But the real risk is that to not participate puts one at  a competitive disadvantage. This recent election is a stunning case in point. And unless electricity goes away and we revert to smoke signals, social networking is only going to continue to bloom.

So how can you begin to get yourself, co-workers and clients on board?

• Practice the Open Mind (very tricky and often requires a trainer/consultant)
• Let them take small bites. Facebook is an easy start.
• Encourage sharing even whispering in corners.  Social networking is an open-system. There are no experts, just users.
• Use the buddy system. A child, co-worker or relative who's got some SN savvy can be a great teacher and let them ask questions without being embarrassed.
• Try making it personal first. Let them to connect to friends and family.
• Don't let anyone turn the job over to a secretary or assistant. 
• Make it playful. Encourage them to pursue games and gadgets that are really interesting to them.
• Practice daily.

Once they engage in an imaginative way, their intellect and their business minds should follow.

Just like a dancer following the beat. They may even take the lead for measure or two.