We all know things are tough right now and at first I allowed this to control me. I was stressed out and in a bad mood. However, after reflecting upon my circles of influence and my circles of concern (I will expand on this more in a future blog entry) I decided I was approaching this situation all wrong.
There are basically two strategies you can use to make it through 2009. You could choose to lay low, cut costs, cut spending and hope to survive or you can focus on growth and innovation. We as a company have chosen the later.
We all know this recession will end; it is just a matter of time. Therefore, we have decided to focus on growth and innovation with the goal of emerging from 2009 stronger than we went into it. Now I am not foolish and I don’t think that we will set new financial records this year so this is not my definition of growth. What I have defined as growth is the growth of our company, our team and each individual on the team.
We are embarking on many corporate and personal development projects this year. We are developing new programs, researching new curriculum, and undertaking personal development initiatives. We are choosing to focus on innovation and growth rather than survival. We are planning to Thrive and not just Survive (following the lead of one of our team building programs).
Will these initiatives cost us time and money; yes. But this investment will pay huge dividends in the near future.
What is your choice going to be this year?
Tags: change management, communication, goal setting, leadership, Motivation, strategic planning, team development, teamwork