GET REAL about change

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." Maria Robinson

Over the last month I have been working with leaders in the United States and Australia on the direction their businesses are going, and what the best strategies and tools are to get them there.

I am surprised at the amount of leaders who are focused on "getting back to where we were." That is just not going to happen, the world has changed. Well, the world is always changing; however the current economic climate has created radical change.

Change is happening all the time. Normally it happens slowly and progressively and as a result we adapt reasonably easily to it. But when it happens radically we feel like we have been thrown off a cliff and we just want to scramble back to the ledge we were standing on prior to the massive change.

The reality is the ledge is no longer there, the world and business has changed. So rather than panic about a return to the old situation, we need to be proactive in creating new solutions and strategies that will take us into the future and put us at the cutting edge when the upturn comes.

This is a great time to reassess our business models, our teams and our structure.

A great time to refine our processes and procedures.

A great time to redefine our delivery and our products.

A great time to refresh, re-energise and reinvigorate our employees and to reinvent ourselves as a business.

These are the things we never get the time to do and put off because of the need to create, build and grow. These are the things that get left to last because they don’t add to the bottom line.

If you want to get ahead of your competitors, do these things NOW while things are slower and you will be able to create an organisation, team and individuals that are in the best position to take advantage of the opportunities that open up as the economy grows stronger.

WHATS IN YOUR BACKPACK??

As we grow and develop throughout life we collect things, and carry them with us, sort of like in a backpack. Sometimes we know what we are collecting and sometimes we collect things that we are unaware of, we collect things that others can see that we cannot and we collect things that other people slip into our backpacks without us knowing.

So right now you are carrying around a backpack full of beliefs, values, habits and ideas.

When was the last time you cleaned your backpack out?

If life is weighing you down, if you are stressed out, if you just cant seem to get ahead! It may just be time to lighten the load, throw away some of those useless items that having being weighing you down for years, hang on to the ones that are most useful and ,maybe look for some new items to carry in your backpack that make you feel refreshed and reenergized.

Is there stuff in your back pack that is festering and putrid??? Are you carrying someone else's?????? And when you are struggling, do you have someone to share the load with, or someone who will carry yours when you are weak or drained?

On the other side, do you put your hand up to carry someone else's load, to give someone a hand when it seems too tough??? Can you help your colleagues, friends and family sort their backpacks out.

Next time you are walking down the street, check the amount of people huddled over, looking at the ground, struggling with the backpack of life.

Make sure you clean yours out so you can walk into the future with your head held high and with all the tools to enjoy the journey