The Ultimate Corporate Entrepreneur

Moving Beyond Setbacks: My 15-Day Rule

Unfortunately, I missed this year's Grace Hopper Conference where my role as participant and blogger would have been a different hat than the one I wore at last year's event as a workshop leader.

A senior technical leader reminded me of the 15-day rule that I shared during my talk on collaborative risktaking and how it had helped her move beyond setbacks this past year.

She thought it would be helpful for me to layout the process that I use--good idea!--so here it is.

 

My 15-Day Rule

Anyone who's been in business for any length of time has experienced setbacks, and if they say they haven't, they're either lying to you or aren't taking enough risks that make a big enough difference.

Years ago I developed my own plan for getting over setbacks--the kind that make you feel as if someone just punched you in the stomach.

I developed my own rule not because of the initial pain (although bad enough), but because I played it out in my head for days, weeks, and even months later. Internalizing setbacks makes us fearful and way too reluctant to move our lives forward and take risks again.

It doesn't matter how many days you spend on a particular step in the process, only that you learn to release and move on within a set timeframe--15 days works for me.

 

Days 1-3: Release

What to Do: Deal with the emotional side of disappointment and anger. Cry. Sleep in a fetal position for 12 hours straight. Watch sports or movies all day in your sweats or jammies. Eat your favorite food (yes, chocolate can be considered a meal). Use cuss words that you never (or rarely) use, just don't direct them at your local cafe barista. 

What not to Do: Go on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to voice or vent your anger. Try not to make a public display of your emotions. If you are a public figure, it may be difficult to not call a press conference to voice your side of the story. But try. We're only talking three days.

 

Days 4-5: Celebrate

List all the great things that you've contributed to something bigger than yourself; invite folks to share how you've transformed them, their relationships (supporting their dog through obedience training does count), their environment at work, or even their business or organization. 

Invite people to be creative in sharing their appreciation with you. Their thanks might come via email, video, audio, a blog post, a poem or a handwritten letter.

You might consider throwing a small, dinner party or a bigger, informal gathering where someone other than yourself cooks for the group.

 

Day 6: Pamper

Get the full 9-yards--whatever makes you feel and look good. A new haircut, 90-minute massage, facial, pedicure and manicure, a new shirt or blouse that makes your "eyes pop". Spend a half day at your favorite cafe reading a new book, breaking in your new Kindle, iPad, Nook or other electronic toy.

 

Days 7-10: Assess, Discover and Learn

You're now ready to take a step back and see the bigger picture of what worked, didn't work, and what you will do differently in future. Here are a few questions to get you started.

• What top 3 things--the heavy hitters--impacted the outcome?
• What could you have controlled but chose not to?
• Who could you have influenced but didn't?
• What risks did you not take that might have changed the outcome?
• What risks did you take that never felt right to you, i.e., forced?
• Did you ask for help too late or not enough times along the way?
• What were your missed opportunities along the way?
• What advice did you wrongly heed?
• What advice did you fail to heed but will in future?
• What heavy hitters were identified during your team's debrief?

 

Days 11-14: Refine Your Approach, Reinvent, and Rebrand

This is when you pull together what you've learned and refine your approach for future. You might want to consider tapping the expertise of mentors and coaches or an advisory board who will provide you with their perspectives.

This is when you decide whether it's time to reinvent and rebrand yourself within the next 3 or 6 months. Your decision will be driven by the outcomes of your self-assessment with that of your team and support network.

 

Day 15: Closure

Congratulations--you've reached the point of letting go of the past and moving towards your future. 

Make it a great one in 2012!

The Art of the Exit

This past year I've experienced "transitional speed-up" while writing Innovation in a Reinvented World, a reminder that embracing the ebb and flow of disruption is the norm in this new reality.

The speed of change and the degree of complexity in solving big problems in the new world of business requires a faster regeneration of our innovation DNA. Our ability to manage beginnings and endings, entrances and exits with agility, speed and finesse will become enhanced skill sets in the coming years.

Unfortunately, institutions--business, education and government--waste far too much time preparing and keeping people in place instead of educating and rewarding them in the art of the exit.

Embracing a life of transition requires that we prepare people for three things:

1. When it's time to let go of the old (the release)
2. How to release (the transitional process)
3. What to leave behind or bring along to enhance the next entrance (the reinvention)

Learning to see our lives as cycles of transition helps us to accept endings as a pathway to new beginnings, creative opportunities, and innovations. 

Pain Comes from Hanging On

I've suspected for some time that pain comes about when we hang on too long to outworn ideas, products, services, processes, and even relationships we've outgrown. By ignoring the early warning signs that "something" is stale and must either be rejuvenated or released, we miss opportunities for embracing disruption and innovating in front of the curve. Mediocrity becomes the norm by which we measure our lives and our relationships, our career or business, and our products and services.

In today's (still) sour economy there are plenty of people hanging on to toxic jobs that they hate and unhealthy relationships that they outgrew years ago. Leaders and managers do the white-knuckle-grip of fear, hanging on to the old way of doing business because disrupting an organization comfortable with the status quo is too risky. Companies continue to reward false distractions that deflect real change and transformation.

Our anemic economy requires executives, business leaders and professionals with the courage to shake up their fear-based mindset and embrace disruption with a clear objective towards innovating.

Creating Bridges

Transition can be a fearful thing for many people. The pace of transition in our lives is happening at such a fast clip that we're seeing this anxiety play out in societies around the world.

For years, as a reinvention readiness consultant and innovation catalyst I've helped people navigate and embrace change; teaching executives, business leaders and professionals about connecting the dots--"reading" and recognizing endings--in prepartion for new beginnings.

Exit Strategists, Transition Specialists

Today's businesses require navigators, guides, mentors and coaches for a reinvented world--transitioning us from the old world (old thinking) to the new world (new thinking).

We need people who are comfortable with recognizing and leading disruptive change and innovating in front of the curve. We also need people who can identify those who, in general, struggle with change and who will serve as bridges for these individuals who must learn to adapt and thrive in this time of transitional speed-up.

Business leaders must move away from punishing workers for not keeping up and, instead, reward them for assuming ownership for their own disruptions--career, business, and personal--providing various types of safety nets as they step out and design transitional accountability into their lifecycle plan.

Preparing people for a lifetime of transition also means allowing people to cycle in and out of roles (and the rigid titles that often accompany them); removing the "position stigma" that often comes when someone steps back to strengthen a skill or to lend their expertise where needed. Organizations will need to reinvent how they recognize and reward people for their contributions when continuous learning at any age and at any stage in someone's career is now a requirement.

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