Tag Archives: reaction

Making Lemonade Out Of This Lemon, An Impressive Lesson About Resiliency

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5.20.15One of my clients has spent months and lots of money on creating a new product to sell to his target market.  It was decided that a guest event would be the ideal way to launch the product.  Invitations were carefully crafted and sent to a large segmented base of potential clients.  Phone calls were made, reservations for the event were noted and then carefully followed up to make sure that attendees were coming.  This event was going to be great!

Except that it wasn’t.

One person showed up.  Yes, that was it…one, lone person showed up.  To say that the event was a no go is an understatement.

Think about it.  What would your reaction be to this huge disappointment?  Tears?  Anger?  Despondency?  Regret?  Yes, me too.  However, this is what happened instead and the reaction became a lesson in resiliency.

This client led the event to the one person audience.  And then this is what he told me afterward.  I learned so much about what I was doing wrong.  I now know how to fix my presentation and will do that.  It was so empowering.  I am very excited about the value that I have created and now know how to relate it to more people.

We then spent the rest of our session planning for the new event and adjusting how to promote it so that it could have the maximum appeal to the target market.

You see he didn’t give up or waste his time on being despondent and victim of the circumstances.  He believes in himself and the new product so much that he couldn’t waste time feeling sorry for himself.  This person is very intentional, purposeful and focused on the end result.  I have no doubt that the next event will be well attended and be what he intends for it to be, something to make a difference in his clients lives.

When something goes wrong and you claim responsibility for it, something powerful and magical happens.

 

Photo courtesy of graur razvan ionut, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Snake in the Grass

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“There is a Snake in the grasse, and the designe is mischievous” (1709, Oxford).
Latet anguis in herba, “A snake lurks in the grass” Virgil (70-19 B.C.)
snake in the grass: noun , Dictionary.com
1. a treacherous person, especially one who feigns friendship 2. a concealed danger

I was recently bitten by a figurative “snake in the grass.” (The bite wasn’t fatal.)

What interests me about it, besides that I didn’t see it coming, is that I was left with a dilemma: What should I do about it?  Perhaps you too have been faced by a similar challenge in your business.

The situation had me examine how I want to manage my business, and also how I want to be known in the the professional realm.  Fortunately, I have the grace of time to think it over instead of just reacting.  Experience has taught me that often my first reaction is not always the highest ground to take and results in anger and bitterness.  However, I am also a business warrior and don’t want to be taken advantage of either.  So thus my dilemma.

Here is what I have come up with regarding the “snake”.  I am not going to anything about it.  Yes, that’s right.  I am not doing anything about it.  To me this is the highest ground I can take.  I will continue to do business as usual.  I will also continue to extend my good will and knowledge to people who ask me for referrals, business advice and direction.  I will continue to believe there is plenty of business for everyone without having to connive and manipulate.  And for me, this is the highest ground I can take, today.  And, I will avoid the tall grass as the Chinese proverb suggests: “He who was bitten by a snake avoids tall grass.”

What I would love to hear is from you about your the “snake in the grass” experiences and what you have done about it.  It is with us sharing our wisdom that we continue to participate and grow a healthy community.

How To Re-imagine Part 2

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Apparently, I hit a nerve with the last newsletter, Re-imagine Your Failure.  Some readers commented on it and others just called to tell me what they saw about re-imagining.  What struck me as the most was that their reactions pointed to who they are as entrepreneurs.  Yes, they have failures.  Yes, they do NOT like failures, and YES, OF COURSE, re-imagining is what must occur.

Here is what one highly successful entrepreneur said: “When asking yourself Man Creatingthat important question, ‘What could you do differently that may make the project succeed?’… it is also important to realize it was YOUR SCENE…Re-Imagine the SCENE…you may not have failed, even though you FEEL that way! Re-imagining has you get out of the grief a LOT faster!”

I think it’s a brilliant response to the inquiry.  Taking the comment apart, here is what inspires me about it.  It is where this person is coming from, this person is totally taking responsibility for her reaction to the failure.  In being responsible for the reaction then she can re-imagine it and give herself an alternative to experiencing failure.

She pointed to a very important trait of successful entrepreneurs, the art of being responsible.  Responsibility is perhaps a unsung positive trait of entrepreneurs.  In the true meaning of the word, being responsible is not blame or guilt, shame or any such demoralizing explanation.  Being responsible is “liable to be called on to answer, being the cause or explanation, able to answer for one’s conduct and obligations.”  Notice that the word “being” is used.  Being meaning, at least to me, who we are on the playing field of business.

An entrepreneur who is being responsible can re-imagine effortlessly, as the commenter said: “it is also important to realize it was YOUR SCENE”.  She takes responsibility for the scene and then, since its hers, she can re-imagine it.  And, that ability, is the key factor for being a successful entrepreneur.  No one else did it to you, or even for you; you and you alone are the one.  There is so much power in that way of being that you cannot fail.  You can only re-imagine and move forward.

I look forward to hearing your comments about this way of being.