Make It Happen

Alternative options

At any point in your life, have you ever found yourself backed into a corner, uncertain how you were going to proceed? It may have been a tough client, a project gone awry, a personal relationship gone sour, or maybe a financial crisis. When this happens, there are a number of common responses, some helpful, and others which are not.

Good responses:

• Take personal responsibility, and be accountable for the situation. Admit that you're wrong, and take your lumps as early as possible.
• Let those impacted know as early as possible. (Especially your manager or clients.)
• Reach out to colleagues, friends, and family for support.

Bad responses:

• Compromise values: If you compromise your values, then you've "re-set" people's expectations of what you would be willing to do in the future. Changing your values to get out of a tough spot might seem like an easy fix, but a reputation for dubious ethics will stick with you forever.
• Be to easy to please. When this happens, you appear desperate. Others will be tempted to take advantage of the situation.

Of course, the best protection against tough situations is to avoid them altogether. Yet if we avoid all challenges, we will never grow. It is these experiences that strengthen us for even greater challenges, increase our value in the job market, and increase our personal equity with friends and family.

This week's action item: Each day we are faced with situations that require our input. This week, before reacting to a tough situation, consider your options: what is the impact of each alternative? How might each impact your reputation over the longer term? Choosing an option from a list of alternatives will always produce better results than a decision made in haste.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

Brain Operating System: Autopilot

DOS, Windows, and Mac OS are all names of computer operating systems. They control the computer chips, memory, and give the computer its unique personality. While we are certainly not computers, we too are controlled by a system: a Brain Operating System.

Our BOS has a tremendous autopilot system: without even thinking, our heart pumps, our lungs breathe, and our eyelids blink. Our conscious minds do this automatically too: we go into "autopilot" when we drive home. We have our coffee at the same time each day... and get it from the same coffee shop.

At work, it is too easy to let more important activities - ones that need your brain - slip into autopilot. When this happens, initiative, innovation, and impact all suffer. Even worse, we sometimes put our personal relationships on autopilot, and begin to take other people for granted. Unfortunately, the "habit" of autopilot is one we get better at with practice.

Autopilot is a double-edged sword: it gives us a mental break from the repetitive, but at the risk of automating things that really do need our attention. Particularly at times of significant change, we need to know when to turn off the autopilot.

This week's action item: Take one day this week, and upgrade your Brain Operating System by avoiding autopilot behavior. Take a different route to work, surprise your colleagues with recognition, and approach your "usual" tasks in an unusual way. Not only will you see things differently, others will see you differently too.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

After a grueling amount of research, writing, and editing, Online PR and Social Media for Experts, Authors, Consultants, and Speakers is now available. Check it out at www.OnlinePRSocialMedia.com.

The book itself is 130 pages, and while it is aimed at "experts", it is completely appropriate for those with expertise working within an organization, whether they be subject matter experts, professionals, or senior executives. Some of the subjects covered are pretty important, including reducing the risk of identity theft, reducing the time "updating" your status, and of course, how to actually get a return on the time that you spend on LinkedIn and the rest of the social networking sites.

Most importantly, the book is designed to help you actually develop your profile, so that you can be found by journalists, speakers bureaus, industry conferences... and possibly even recruiters.

Randall Craig
www.OnlinePRSocialMedia.com

Well, I finally broke down and decided to start a blog. This is the very first entry - a test to make sure that the technology is actually working...