Over the last few months, through my coaching practice and with some organizations I consult, I have had the opportunity to speak with a lot of people at various levels of organization hierarchy. I feel fortunate that I gathered many insights from the glimpses they allowed me of their lives. I learned some important life lessons. I am grateful to them.
And I feel a little amazed that a lot of people are asking and are concerned about some basics to deal with life in the current pandemic situation. Surely, we are going through extraordinary times and no one really knows exactly how things will change and what will happen in the coming weeks and months.
In the middle of several web calls and webinars, I thought I would pen down my thoughts about how one can adapt quickly to the changing times and emerge successful in these uncertain times.
Hope you like reading it. Do leave your comments.
7 Precepts To Succeed In The New Normal
“Covid19”, “Novel Corona Virus”, “FH is the new normal”, “Life will change”, “Change is here to stay”.. and so on. We keep hearing all these observations, opinions, and ideas about how to deal with this “never before in our lifetimes crisis”.
Then there are philosophers and all kinds of practitioners who will have prescriptions about how we can manage and balance our inner energies and state of mind for that perfect life state, come what may.
The optimists, “positive thinkers” believe that all will be well and back to normal soon. Or there are predictions about what will happen and when.
Not to take away anything or belittle any of these, my question is, “does all this help?” Instead of prescriptions we need to find out, explore what we can and should do. Prescriptions will not help because no one of us has any experience about handling this situation. We have knowledge from history, but is the situation and the needs the same as those 100 years ago?
There are statements and there are questions. But all these are about a general scenario, the society at large. Many are logical and possible scenarios.
Some facts we all know are that most businesses are making losses, some may even close permanently. For example, by one estimate 40% of restaurants may shut shop; by another, 25 to 30% companies are likely to downsize their manpower. Surely, there will be a “budget re-alignment” and salaries may not increase as expected or there may be cuts in salaries; number of jobs will shrink, many may lose jobs.
There is a need to Re-think, Re-imagine and Re-create!
As young working professionals, the question then is, “what happens to the individual ‘me’? What do I do hereon? How do I thrive in this ‘new normal’?”
Through this article, I want to share seven precepts that will help set the right mindset to explore, understand and make action plans for the individual “me”. Each of these is based on my own quotes; yes, I am a part time writer of short snippets and quotes.
-
Results or Reasons
“Results or Reasons. The choice is yours. Always!”
Every time you set out to achieve a goal or accomplish any task, remember that there are only two possible outcomes: either you will get the desired results or you will have reasons for not having achieved. If you have the reasons, valid reasons, you may set out to achieve it once more, and again, there are only two possible outcomes: Results or Reasons. Each time you have reasons, you are going farther away from your goals and from achieving the desired results.
Ask yourself: What do I want to accomplish today, tomorrow, this week…?
-
You! Your YOUniqueness!
“This world gave you a name, education, designation, an identity. But what makes you, YOU?”
Most people grow up to be what they are told and taught what they should do and how they should behave. Some of us are fortunate to discover those unique abilities or talents that differentiate us. Identify your talent and then work on it to become the best you can be. And then the world will come to you. Any successful person you can think of has mastered this: Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer, Lionel Messi, Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, and many more.
Ask yourself: What are my strengths and weaknesses? My unique capabilities?
-
Think Entrepreneur!
“What if your current job is outsourced; and you are the vendor? Would you do anything different?”
Entrepreneurship is not just about running your own business. In the new era, being able to think like an entrepreneur is a critical mindset you need to embrace. Organizations need people who own the business and the challenges. Treat your job as if you were the vendor doing that job.
Ask yourself: What is the best I can contribute in this situation?
-
M. A. D.!
“Go MAD today!! – Make A Difference.”
Yes. Go MAD. Go, make a difference. People who make a difference through their jobs, justify their responsibilities. Think about what difference are you making? Is the outcome because of you or despite you? Why should you be getting to play that role and not someone else?
Ask yourself: What value can I add?
-
Empathy
“If Leaders were to be elected, would your team still vote for you?”
As Dr. Stephen Covey said, seek first to understand then to be understood. If you are a leader or a manager of people, empathy, putting yourself in the others’ shoes is going to be especially critical now. The new ways of working, connecting and interacting will throw new challenging situations. Each person could be in a different environment, people will take time to adjust to the new life. Creating pressure and insisting people operate only in a certain manner is only going to increase stress in the relationships. Listen more; listen to “what is not being said too”.
Ask yourself: What is the other person feeling?
-
Take Risks
“Your safety net also imprisons you.”
As work life changes, no one really knows for sure what will work and what will not. We are going to have to be ready for new challenges and newer ways of interacting and dealing with situations; new business processes, new policies, culture will have to dominate policies. It is going to be extremely critical for you to go and try new ways of working, take chances. Organizations and leaders will have to encourage people to take risks. It is ok to fail but fail fast, and cheap.
Ask yourself: Is there a better way of doing this, and faster?
-
Impermanence!
“Nothing ends, everything changes. The caterpillar turns into a butterfly; just as a seed becomes a flower.”
Just as we experienced the sudden onset of the pandemic which changed our lives, the reality is that nothing is permanent. Everything changes. You need to be agile enough to quickly adapt to new changing scenarios. Your job is never complete; you need to learn to live with incompleteness and constantly look out for opportunities, imagine scenarios, create possibilities to live into.
Ask yourself: What possible scenarios can I foresee?
You will notice that these seven precepts are interconnected. We must embrace these mindsets and look at newer ways to adapt in the new normal. Some of us can bring about the changes on our own, others need a coach to facilitate this positive change.
At the end, “don’t wait for life, go fetch it!”
Thank you for reading this. Do leave your comments.