Following is Tool Number 3.

Number three is Take Risks.  Be that eagle that jumps off the cliff.  A risk is only a risk before you do it.  Haven’t you been in a situation that seems risky – you’re riding a roller coaster; the worst part of the ride is the part up that first hill.  Once you go down, that’s the best part because you’re surrendering to gravity.  Risk taking is doing things differently than you’ve done them before, treating people differently than you’ve been treated, trying something you don’t have the recipe for.  What is the most dangerous thing in critical times?  It is approaching the new horizon in the old vehicle.  You don’t get a new vehicle unless you’re willing to change.  Change is probably the hardest thing to do in critical times, but risk taking and change are the most important tools.  Decide what your tolerance is for change.  If you’re comfortable with big change, go for it.  If you’re not comfortable with a big change, cut it up and make small changes.  If you’re afraid of a big risk, cut it in half and take half of a big risk.  Excuses are not acceptable.  Excuses are a poor man’s reason for staying poor.  Excuses are a poor soul’s reason for staying weak.  Excuses are an adolescent’s reason for blaming the rest of the world.  Take Risks, no excuses.

What are your thoughts on THIS tool? Please leave your comments below.

Jonette Crowley and the Enlightened Leadership Team

Technorati Tags: CHANGE, take risks, tools for critical times

The reality is that change, itself, is pretty quick and mechanical. We flip a switch and we’re now using a new system. We make an announcement, and someone is a new manager. We painfully announce a layoff, and it is done quickly. We completely reorganize our business. It takes some time to plan, but once it is announced, it is done quickly.

The change is not the issue. The issue is the psychological and emotional process that people ALWAYS go through in their transition from the way it used to be – with which they had become very comfortable – to the new way.

It’s the People part, the Soft part – that makes all the difference!

This transition process in people occurs EVEN IF the change is a really good thing. That has always baffled me, but it is true. Even if it is a very positive change in the long run, people still go through their own individualized psychological process – and every person does it at their own pace and in their own way.

The new way might be a different job, a different boss, a totally new process of work, a new computer system, a new benefit plan(or personal change such as a change in a relationship, a death of a loved one, even winning the lottery, etc) – it doesn’t matter what the change is.  The issue is not the change. The issue is the emotional turmoil, chaos and confusion we go through during the transition from the old to the new.

And that transition is NOT instantaneous.

As managers-leaders-owners, how well we manage these transitions will make all the difference in the impact of the change on our business.

Whole businesses have failed because of poorly executed transitions.

The GOOD NEWS is that a well-led transition can enhance your organization’s effectiveness and position you for success better than you’ve ever been.

Sometimes, change is inevitable. There is no choice.

How we make the transition is ALWAYS A CHOICE! And that choice makes all the difference as to whether the change creates miserable failure or exciting results.

Stay tuned for more on this topic. And share this with others in your organization and your friends. They’re all being impacted by change!

To getting your organization through change in a way that positions you for higher success!

Ed Oakley

Technorati Tags: CHANGE, emotional-process, SOFT PART, transition