I had the privilege of working with two really great sales teams this week. They have recently undergone a merger between two large organisations and the two sales teams met for the first time, at the sales conference. As you can imagine there was a lot of trepidation at first, but after spending the entire week together, learning about each other’s product lines, culture and way of doing things, I believe that they left the conference as one united team of driven and inspired individuals, eager to support each other in 2013 and beyond.
Why am I telling you this story, well their first amalgamated sales conference was aptly called “Shift Happens”. You can imagine how the word “Shift” was altered at first, by the two sales teams. Incredibly by the time I left them, I saw one united team of colleges, who had embraced the change and were eager to work together as a team. They were no longer a group of strangers, who felt insecure and unsure of what the future held for them. They had all embraced change, seen the advantages of working in a bigger team and had allowed themselves to turn challenge into something beneficial and to their advantage.
All Progress Requires Change
The lesson we can learn from this team and the wonderful positive “Shift” they managed achieve in such a short space of time, is that as change is now a given in the world we inhabit, stop fighting against it and accept that the sooner you embrace it and actually use it to grow or identify new opportunities, the better. Make change your ally and see it as not only an integral part of your journey, but in many cases, it actually highlights opportunities, which may have remained hidden form you, had you not experienced the change in the first place. Remember that all progress requires change.
Developing Mental Strength
To thrive in this world of never ending change, it is imperative that you develop a calm mental toughness, as experiencing constant “Surprises” is the new normal. The constant and ever changing world, shortening business cycle, rapid growth in knowledge, globalisation and the never ending flood technological advancements is filling our world with an ever increasing flood of change. If you are to survive and thrive, in this mass of change, it is imperative that you accept change as quickly as possible, embrace it and discover ways to utilise it to improve your experience and that of the people around you.
Change Brings Challenge
As certain as you are that the sun will rise in the East and set in the West every day, so certain should you be that change will unsettle you and that it will bring new challenges into your life.
Action Idea: The best way to deal with change and the inevitable challenges it brings, is to view them as merely an event. They are not what defines you. It is how you choose to respond to and how you choose to utilise change and challenge, to sculpture your future, which will ultimately define you and determine how much meaning and fulfilment you will get to experience.
The uncertainty and challenge, which change brings must be seen as a temporary inconvenience, merely a stumbling block, which can be turned into stepping stones towards your future success. Build a mental picture where you see every challenge turning into a stepping stone and visualise yourself steping boldly onto each one, as you use each challenge as the fertiliser for your future success.
No comments:
Post a Comment