Many companies & many people in their personal life, end up in a situation where they qualify it to be a No-Win situation. Many of them move into a shell & start being upset about their situation – and in many cases, lose heart – and in the bargain- lose the battle.
Recently, I was reading this book – Boom!. It gave me kind of refresher on changing my attitude, that I have started using this extensively….
Whilst the book has a number of other elements to talk about- one aspect that stood out (to me) was – the matter of Choice!
· The difference between ordinary people and extraordinary people is CHOICE.
· The freedom to choose may be the most power attribute and precious resource you have in your life.
· The Freedom to choose is yours alone to leverage or not. No one can grant it to you, and no one can take it away from you.
In your personal as well professional life- we just have to make that one choice – to work differently & look for Solutions (these are few) rather than problems (there are many). But the choice is OURS to make – and I choose to look for solutions- and the opportunities rather than the problems.
In the current situation, there are a number of things we cannot influence. However, we should actively look for areas that we can influence. What do we choose to be today?
Choose to be a PLAYER- not a BYSTANDER. We all have a choice to be a player- someone who is not standing idly on the ground, while a match is going on – but actively engaging with the other players in the team, and working towards a common goal of winning in this game.
Players chose to focus on what they can control.
· You can control your attitude towards your boss and senior leaders & the business.
· You can control your ability to perform, to become a guru, a thought-leader, a go-to-person who is seen as adding value.
· You can control your approach when interacting with your boss and other leaders.
What can we do as a Star Team? – we may not be able to single-handedly change our company’s culture, but we can….
· Create a small pocket of success in your own area of influence that inspires others to take notice and behave differently towards us, and our team. Share it with the rest of the team. Let us celebrate all our success together. Every small success will add a brick to our goal of being the OEM team in the world! (Why stop there – why not the best team in MS).
· Bring the right attitude. (Solutions – not problems)
· Avoid people who are tuned out and actively disengaged.
Another key element to becoming a very successful team is when EVERY member thinks like the OWNER of the company! Instead of being (and behaving like an employee), start behaving like an "Employer/ Owner" . Why would this be required? (this was truly an eye-opener- and I believe each of should adopt this as our mantra).
Why Owners? –
· Owners step out from behind titles and job descriptions to act on behalf of the customer , partners and the company.
· They never say "This is not my job" or "this is too big for me".
· Owners cater to the organization mission, vision and values. Non-owners cater to bosses.
· Owners focus on the business results of their actions
· Owners have the guts to ask the tough questions. They understand the consequences of complacency- and they aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo with the mantra "How can we make it better"
· Owners disregard functional boundaries to consider what’s goodf or the company as a whole.
· Owners pay attention to detail
Be the change you wish to see in the world – MK Gandhi
If you have stuck by till now – here is a quick homework for you.
Identify 3 activities you will take up immediately- take a pen & write it down- which will set you in the right direction. Think about your personal or professional life- and where you think you are not playing the role of a PLAYER- list it out- and start making a move to change that! Things will be different.