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Are there better ways to shape your future than going to College or University?

4/12/2020

Do you need a College or University diploma or degree to get a job?

You do not need a degree to get a good job? There is a great deal of contrary information. For instance, Elon Musk, founder of X.com, which became PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX believe there are many other routes to greatness besides College.   The founders of Apple, Google, IBM., Microsoft and Facebook, were all dropouts. Not having a robust tertiary education never stood in Steve Job's way. Today, Google does not care about your completion of a degree. They care about your Mindset and what you can contribute. According to Inc magazine, Google's new certification of competencies takes only six months to complete and will be a fraction of the cost of College.

Likewise, Microsoft wants to employ those people who are adaptable, flexible, quick learners, creative and work well in a team.

Mindset vs. Rigidity

I am not sure that University or College provides you with the right Mindset and meta-skills for business. In many ways, College teaches you the opposite. I know because before I left many years ago to start my creative consulting firm, I was a Senior Lecturer in two business schools in tertiary education in Scotland for eight years.
My view is that College teaches us to fit into a box and conform. It does not inspire creativity and innovation because of adherence to old tired curricula geared more to the needs of yesterday than the demands of tomorrow and constrains. Careers guidance is still lacking and not a priority in many of these institutions.

Post-COVID Futures

University does not teach you confidence, influence or how to work well with others. Post-COVID students face a depressing future and are due to inherit an empty promise. I cannot see how College is preparing to give their 'customers' or 'clients' (students) the basics of managing your life and career, working with others, how best to present yourself and learning how to resolve conflict. It appears to me that the 'academic experience' is content, rather than process, driven.

Learning to learn is the critical 'process'

College or University should be providing a robust platform upon which to shape life long learning. Our understanding when we talk to recruiters looking for high calibre people, is that College turns out students who have varying degrees of content and knowledge but fails to develop the meta-skills: of critical reasoning and thinking, creative problem solving, influencing and building teams, leading research on 'unknown – unknowns', and working well with others.

The tertiary education system needs rebuilding – especially with the considerable investment required to attend increasing enormously.

When we get to the Post pandemic society, learners will think differently about the choice of going to College or University to study. I mean, is it worth it? Do the benefits of attending prepare you for life in a post COVID world?   Is associating with the same people (aged mostly 18-22) preparing you to work in a diverse and ever-changing business world. There are much better alternatives to follow.

Myth: attend College or University, and the World becomes your oyster

Try telling that to the 27-year-old who spent four years at University and now has £55K debt that she will not pay off for years. What is worse is she did not get the job of her dreams. BTW, neither do most students who finish their degrees. Less than 30% of those who have studied specific subjects land a job in their favoured or a related field.

A friend spent four years studying languages, and now by default has ended up in a Promotions business. Has she been prepared for the changing role of business as the speed of business and societal change accelerates? How many others leaving College to end up in similar positions they would not have chosen for themselves?

Fit for Purpose

I have to ask, is tertiary education fit for purpose and does it equip people for the emerging World. I am convinced that the author Robert T. Kiyosaki got the theme right in his series of books 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' – you have to prepare and take charge of your future, and position yourself in his Cashflow Quadrant.   His thesis is that traditional University or college education is not always an excellent grounding or platform for shaping roles and careers in the new emerging World. It was fine when futures were predictable, but we have lived in an unpredictable and uncertain world since the 80s. Isn't it about time that we prepare people for living and surviving in it? There are alternatives, and one of these is turning learning, rather than education, right on its head.

Mindset more critical than the traditional curriculum

Of course, students of all ages need some degree of technical input to do their job in their desired field. That is probably more prevalent in the physical or analytical sciences and the professions and perhaps less relevant in the arts and social sciences. We believe that academic content has been ranked higher in importance to eclipse the importance of creating a flexible Mindset and acquiring the ability to 'Learn to Learn.'

Debt is now a significant unintended outcome of 4 years study

How many have had their ambitions thwarted? Graduating students may have the hard choice to pay off the growing debt while still looking to acquire a mortgage. There is no choice at all. It will constrain and inhibit personal growth and ambition. How can they motivate themselves to overcome these financial barriers? Now, even fewer young people will have the ability to enter and move up the housing ladder. So, there must be alternatives to College as the only route to advancement.

What is the purpose of College or University?

I want to think it has to do with learning and applying expertise and knowledge in your chosen field. But currently, the way we do things does not always lead to learning.   I believe very few students think their investment of between £9 - 12K per year is well rewarded with a lacklustre education comprising of Zoom calls and on-line learning. Goodness knows 'how hands-on' professions like Medicine, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Dentistry etc. are going to acquire their expertise if these passive processes (Zoom and on-line learning) become the medium for conveying knowledge and expertise.

If you would like to find out more of the alternative – email me at philip@philipatkinson.com

Challenges and Opportunities: Post-COVID Goal Setting

11/11/2020

There is an element of trepidation in the air. Uncertainty around how we can get the train back on the rails is a concern for everyone who manages any process. It is not going to be easy, but it can be easier if we adopt a robust and flexible approach to our goal setting and goal getting.

2020 has not been an easy year, and neither will 2021

In this short Blog, we highlight some of the critical elements. It does not matter in what sector of the economy we work; indecision, will not support us in planning and achieving our business goals.

We use a six-step approach for looking at change from both a personal and an organisational perspective. Whether you are trying to get fit, lose weight or improve your organisation's effectiveness and create great ROI for your clients, customers and end-users, there are six elements of the change process that must be addressed.

It is unlikely that you will be successful without focusing on these areas and be determined to 'play to win'.

Issue 1: Clear and Specific Well-Formed Outcomes

If you are not clear on what you want to achieve, it's unlikely that you will achieve your goal. You have to be precise and focus on specific things or behaviours. In a commercial setting, you have to focus on the sales strategy that will lead to retaining existing customers as well as winning new customers. If you work in an NFP, you will have to focus on delighting your users and clients and providing good SROI for all your stakeholders and regulators.

You have to have a firm idea of the people you want to attract to 'consume' your organisations' services or products. If you are focusing on quality improvement in service delivery, you have to know the current state of play, including metrics on your current effectiveness in dealing with your users. You also have to know your future targets.

If we want to run faster – how much quicker? Is seven-minute mile pace the right pace to complete a fun run? You have to decide. Is losing 20 pounds the right amount – (you do have to specify precisely your target) - you cannot say you are generally trying to lose weight – that would be a much weaker goal because it is too generalised. The same with writing a book. What's the book specifically about? What's the story? Who are the characters?   How long is it? What's the plot, and how does it evolve?

Specificity & Precision in Goal Setting

The more specificity, the better. You have to have a clear idea of where you are starting from and measure those things that are working, and not working and then plan for a future state when things will be the way you want them. Then you compare current and future conditions and notice there is a gap between 'current' and 'desired'. Decide how you traverse that gap and take action.

People who focus on generalised business goals achieve far less than those who focus on precision, know what a successful outcome looks like and can assess how near they are to their objectives.

They know what works and they plan their future. It's a bit like driving a car. You have a big windscreen to look out through (the future) and and the tight distance of travel. You have a small rearview mirror (the past) because although you have to check periodically what's behind you – your future and safety lie in what you are focusing on as you drive into it.

Issue 2: Focus on Role Models

Role Models are so important. Perhaps you should have your own imaginary Board of Directors in your head to guide your decision making. As examples, four personal favourites appear straight away. Elon Musk, founder of Paypal, Tesla and SpaceX, Peter Jones, the entrepreneur, Richard Branson the creator of Virgin and the Body Shop philanthropist, the late Anita Roddick.

It does not matter if you have never met them. Maybe they are people you look up to and admire. They are your heroes. Everyone has different heroes. So, you may never met these people, but they are role models for you. Now with these role models in your consciousness, what you would have to ask of these imaginary personal 'Board of Directors' as role models is 'how would they interpret what is going on in your life and business and what would they do?' You can have a Director for each part of your life for fitness, nutrition, career, relationships. And the good thing is you don't have to pay them, and they will never know all the free advice they are giving away to YOU!

Role Models for different situations

I have many role models. Here are a few of mine. My role models include Duncan Simons friend and fitness coach and Ellie Simmonds the paralympic swimmer, and, racing cyclist Chris Froome four times winner of the Tour de France. They are role models because they each have had their challenges, and I admire them for how they overcame them.

If you have role models you have a clear idea of what behaviours to emulate and rehearse frequently to become an expert - so you don't even have to think about what you need to do - it is just automatic.

So instead of wanting to be a successful billionaire like Peter Jones – you have to understand how he did it. One way is to read his books, follow his work with the Entrepreneurs Academy and Watch him on Dragons Den.

Becoming Good at Anything

Whether it is becoming a great business leader, a great strategist, supremo of donor relations, or a sub-hour 25-mile time trialist requires role models. When Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in 1954, it was not long before twelve runners broke the record after he set the standard and proved that it was possible. Acting as a role model, he helped the others to break the self-limiting belief held by many athletes at the time, that it would be impossible to do it.

Issue 3: Rehearse and Practice Specific Behaviour

Knowing what to do requires practice. It was Gary Player, the famous golfer, who first said: "the more I practice, the luckier I get". What he meant was, "the more I practice – the less I have to rely on luck."

Last year I met an old colleague, Tom, at a presentation I was giving on 'Influencing Others' in Edinburgh. He liked my approach and the session and said that the following day he was making a significant proposal to an existing client. I said, "I wish you well, but you probably don't need my good wishes because I am sure you have rehearsed your pitch to perfection." "No", he said. "He's an existing client – it will be a breeze. I have made hundreds of pitches, and I have a good rapport with him and the panel".

Over Confidence and Under Competence

How wrong can you be?   Later, I phoned Tom, and he admitted sadly that the client had transferred allegiance to his competitor rather than give him the repeat work. The feedback Tom received from his (soon to be ex-client) was that the panel who appraised the presentation thought his pitch was unfocused, overly friendly, loose and unstructured. In contrast, the proposal of his competitor was focused, professional, tight and specified the benefits that would accrue to the client.

Lessons Learned: Don't Use the Pitch as Your First Rehearsal

If you want to be a great leader of change you have to learn to talk to people. You have to know how people think, to assess what you can do personally to improve your performance. Focus on behaviours that will move you towards your goals and practice, practice, practice. Never use the pitch as a rehearsal.

Issue 4: Review what's working and what is not

Success at anything leaves a trail of markers, some of which are positive and move you forward, while others may have hindrances. You require the sensory acuity to measure and understand what is working and what is not. That means you need personal or organisational metrics that tell you whether you are moving towards or away from your goal.

When you are getting fitter physically, you'll need to focus on your weight, your BMI (fat to muscle ratio), average pulse and blood pressure as well as measuring the quality and quantity of what you put into your body and how often.

In an organisational context – if you are working on increasing revenue, you'll have to focus on donor, client user or customer retention, new service offerings against set targets. Suppose you are introducing organisational change to create a leadership culture. In that case, you have to focus on how speedily behavioural change is being led into the style and actions of the management team.

Issue 5: Develop Tenacity and Stamina

You have got to develop the motivation to sustain your efforts personally or organisationally. These come about by how you talk enthusiastically and positively to self and others. This requires a sustainable basis and pride in the need to achieve. This can only come from you. Creating a firm foundation is no good if you fail to have the energy and the passion for seeing things through, even when you don't feel in the mood or setbacks are getting your down
.
Issue 6: Take Personal Ownership & Responsibility for the Change

Take full responsibility and ownership of what happens. Don't blame COVID, the Economy, Politicians or others. Take full ownership and make no excuses.

Failure happens sometimes, and doing more of the same will have no positive impact. After all, repeating the same activities time and time again and expecting different results is a good definition of insanity. So do something else. If that fails, reappraise and do something else. Ask, "Is this taking me closer to or further away from my goals?", and commit to taking personal responsibility.

By following these six issues and continuously reviewing your progress, you can achieve any goal in a post COVID WORLD.

Email Philip Atkinson

Pandemic Planning: When the Square Wheels come off

19/10/2020

Okay, during the initial stages of the pandemic your ideas of readying your organisation for change appeared fine, but given time they did not work. It’s exactly the same for Governments around the world – just on a larger scale.

Seven months into the pandemic, different countries have different strategies for managing it. We have yet to see one that is working to satisfaction and can be replicated elsewhere.

Planning = Ready + Fire + Aim

It appears to be very much an example of ready, fire, aim attitude to planning. We need to spend much more energy (not time) focusing on the level of direction, our aim, and our desired shared outcomes rather than hoping that something will just evolve and fix things. This is apparent at Governmental, industry or sector level - even within the UK, where we have four different Governments developing their own strategies (sometimes in spite of the others).

How does this relate to our businesses and the wider Economy?

It is dangerous. We are neglecting the business of rebuilding our organisations and our economies. If we fail to commit the energy to do this, we will soon have no economy to manage.

I speak daily with businesspeople who still are operating in a state of confused flux, and they have yet to develop concrete ideas of Plan A, B, C and D that could work for them. One of the issues we raise, which is not always welcome is….

Is your business and your role still relevant?

It is probably the most critical question that any business leader or team can answer. Because if the answer is ‘we don’t know’ or ‘we are not sure’ – then the real answer is NO!

How can you create Plan A, B or C if your vision and mission for your organisation is in doubt, with little certainty of recovery in its current form?

Many organisations find that their role has changed, but they do not act or behave to suit. They still have the same strategy, the same structure, reporting relationships and roles with little thought of developing a resilient culture.

The truth is that the reason they exist may have changed fundamentally – quite radically in many ways, yet still they have not embarked on the journey to be, do and have on offer something much more relevant to their customers, end-users and public.

Reality check required for all organisations in all sectors

Commercial organisations may be the first to understand this – probably because they have the pressure of shareholders, regulators, customers, investors, stakeholders and quarterly returns that they have to hold to account. Look at the enormous changes impacting the Airlines, Tourism & Hospitality, Energy, Retail and Financial Services. The challenges they face are enormous.

Have they individually committed to managing perhaps the most significant change they have ever confronted before? We are not sure, but we do have a series of published articles for you to assess whether you are prepared to pursue the wisdom and insight of Psychiatrist Scott Peck’s ‘The Road Less Travelled’ series on the journey to reinvent ourselves and our institutions.

Wake up call for Not for Profits (NFP)

Under the term NFPs, we group all organisations that do not have a strict commercial ethos and basis. NFPs includes all the public sector, publicly funded organisations, educational institutions, Government Departments, Universities, Charities, NGO’s and the whole variety of businesses that make up the third sector.

Consider the vast loss of income, how to compensate for that and what radically needs to change in terms of focus, structure, systems, processes and culture.

What is clear is that we need to spend more time in critical thinking mode, rather than just remembering things that may half-heartedly have worked before when confronted with the existential crisis.

A call to action

We find most people love a good challenge. We have one for you should you wish to take things further. Download the article at the end of this Blog, and consider how the issues raised in them impact your organisation, and how you can reinvent and renew your business to overcome the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Philip Atkinson

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Taking a Good Look in the Mirror

6/10/2020

It is always a good idea to review where you are currently and how you got here and even more so in these turbulent times when organisations are unsure how or even whether they will operate in the future.

How are we doing?

Asking the simple question – how are we doing is something that management teams should be doing every quarter. Reviewing progress daily and weekly is crucial because it enables you to take corrective action – but what if the problems faced by your organisation are much more severe.

Can our position be so bad?

You don’t know if you never ask. Enterprises and the management teams that run them need to face up to reality. Committing to this process is brave, and not everybody is up to it – simply because most of us do not want to find out where and how we need to improve and do better.

The best decision you can make as part of a senior management team (SMT) is to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask some essential questions.

How can you go about this?

Well, you can manage this yourself, or if you want to learn more and see that the process has some depth, there should be a high degree of facilitation by someone objective and independent to the organisation. We have seen the responsibility been loosely and inappropriately bestowed on HR, QA & Risk, Compliance, Internal Audit or ad hoc project managers.

This can be a misjudgement and a cop-out of failing to deal with the real issues.

Independent Review

To get an accurate and independent view needs someone with behavioural expertise to manage the process, to get the SMT to critically reflect on their own and others’ thinking and ask some of those tough questions.

How can this be managed?

To make this process work, you have to be totally open to exploring and dissecting the key issues that are impacting your business. That means to generate the required information the facilitator to interview each of the top team, their direct reports and focus groups based on representative diagonal slices of the organisation.

Strategic issues for consideration

How has our market position changed in recent months, and how can we ensure we are relevant in delivering to our customers and users?
Where are we most vulnerable as an organisation?
What short term decision have to be implemented straight away, and what do we have to commit to in the longer term to ensure that our strategy meets the challenges that confront us?
How well do we structure roles and responsibilities around the changing strategy and business plan? What needs to change and when?
Do we have the systems and processes in place to deliver a new business plan and execute a strong strategic and operational roll-out?
How well have we prepared the culture for the profound changes we have to make and how robust is our implementation plan?

We have written an article focusing entirely on using several models to generate the thinking behind formulating this strategic vision. You can find the published article here in the 2020 Autumn edition of the Chartered Institute of Management Services Journal below.

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Organisational Imperatives: Culture Change & Strategy Formulation

3/9/2020

"Philip Atkinson and Daniel Burger outline the key issues with devising and implementing both a Cultural review and Strategic analysis for your organisation."

How do we focus our efforts on safeguarding our organisations in the current volatile business climate? There are no easy answers, but the most probable and easy solution is to focus on three key factors; direction, energy and alignment.

Organisations have to cope with the myriad of 'disrupter factors' impacting on their very existence. There is no simple solution for all businesses as they differ in their origin, sector, history, Culture, market, clients, users, their risk aversion and preference as to how they should manage change.

Risk Aversion and Managing Change

What is critical in managing in uncertain times is the organisational Leadership team intently concentrating on what is vital to establish, not just in the short term, but also to be viable in the medium and long term. Direction, energy and alignment are three core elements that will ensure that organisations come through this extended period of uncertainty.

Focus, Energy & Alignment

To get through these tough times, organisations need to pinpoint their focus and business direction totally on their client or end-user. Based on this, the Leadership team need to develop specific business plans reflecting their focus and vision for the future. A Leadership team exhorting motivating but non-specific generalised statements of direction based more on faith, luck and hope, rather than factual analysis, is of little value. In all sincerity, if the business doesn't articulate where it is going and how it is going to achieve this then there will be severe problems.

To read the complete article click the PDF below

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20/8/2020

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Lockdown, Plantar Fasciitis & Known Unknowns: Managing Change in Uncertain Times

21/7/2020

This month I am focusing more on personal than organisational change simply because personal development and fitness seem to be on the mind of most of the people I know, including neighbours. I am not sure how the Government have achieved this, but they have managed to get many of us committed to daily exercise.

Continuous Personal Improvement & Joe Wicks

I am not sure if this trend will continue, but record numbers of people are tuning into Joe Wicks and his daily workout. Many other Gurus are available – but some are just too intense. I prefer my exercise being LSD – long, slow distance on a bike. I am not suggesting we go back to the Mr Motivator and the Green Goddess from the 90s TV era of fitness – but that we adopt a more holistic approach which fits with our lifestyle and our business commitments.

Personal Confession

I mean, I do see the point of all this, but I have not prepared for the exercise as much as I should. I have been riding my new racing bike (in Edinburgh) around Arthur’s Seat, and a lovely area called the Meadows on at least four times a week for six weeks x 90 minutes. Still, I am not looking any more like Bradley Wiggins than I would if I just continued reading Cycling Weekly, channelling his energies and forgo the actual hard bit – the riding.

Piling on the Pressure

So I committed to doing a little jogging to complement my biking – but it seems to have had the wrong outcome. It did not help that I threw myself into serious gardening cutting back grossly overgrown trees by taking a small saw to the sturdier branches. Now the neighbours are getting sunlight in the morning – but the physical work has created a problem for me – namely my lower legs.

Injury Prone Professionals and MAMIL (Middle Aged Men in Lycra)

I have met a few pals over the weekend, and we have shared our most exciting stories – about personal injuries. Not all TV personalities that put you through ‘hell and back’ are like Joe Wicks. Many are too gung-ho.

I have watched and quickly turned off a TV channel where guys are pushing it too far. Many occupy the ground of over-muscled ‘meat-heads’ – committing to 100’s of stomach crunches, press-ups, too many burpees (what even are they?) explosive star jumps and the plank position for more than 20 seconds!!

Too painful – come back Joe, Mr Motivator and even the Green Goddess!

Injuries aplenty

Up to know I have counted 14 non-serious (self-inflicted) injuries within my extended group of colleagues and friends – mostly amongst males - ranging from ingrown toenails to my own much more serious Plantar Fasciitis.

One Hour of Preparation prevents 10 hours of Pain

However, the GP has told me it could take 2-3 weeks to heal fully – so I best keep off the bike. Being somewhat impatient, I have argued that I could recover from my physical ailments much faster perhaps with physiotherapy (I forget that hands-on treatment does not meet with Social Distancing - Oops).

She made the point that I need to develop a mindset of Prevention through preparation, stretching, warming up and taking it easy, rather than treating every exercise session as a competition. Of course, she is right and proves the point of an article I wrote last month for organisations that need to review their mission and the role post-Convid 2020+.

Unknown – Unknowns: Managing Change in Uncertain Times

The article aptly entitled ‘Unknown-Unknowns’ we had published in the Journal of Management Services. It focuses on how organisations can objectively and accurately assess their: current functioning; the value they offer to their clients, customer and users; and the action they have to take to review current performance objectively.

Some organisations will have to reassess their purpose and role and how it fits with their current strategies
Many may have to consider restructuring their finances and how they transact business.
Others may have to consider achieving more with less and reconsider what options are open to them

Things have changed radically. How far their purpose is still valid, and whether they have to restructure their thinking, their way forward, their goals and strategies depend on the level of thinking they bring to uncertain times. We are very much operating in the world of ‘Unknown, Unknowns’.

Ready, Fire, Aim

If this article sounds of interest to you will find a PDF link at the end of the Blog. We argue that we need to focus more time on a Ready, Aim, Fire methodology or approach, rather than the one, many of us, adopted with our fitness regime, which basically amounts to Fire, Ready, Aim.

Email Philip for further information.

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Unknown Unknowns: Managing Change Post Pandemic

9/5/2020

Donald Rumsfeld, (former US Secretary of Defence) introduced us to what we term the Knowledge Matrix at a Defence Department Briefing in February 2002. Here we offer that methodology for you to use that may give us back a semblance of control in the organisations of today which will, through ‘self-renewal, reinvention and resilience,’ become robust organisations for tomorrow.

When this pandemic is over, things will change for business and organisations, but no one can be sure how things will evolve. What we have to be sure of is developing the mindset and strategies to cope with the changes that are taking place in the economy and how business is transacted. Many are asking what to do.

The Knowledge Matrix

This Matrix is useful for Senior Leadership Teams to apply to strategic and critical operational decisions. Problems or challenges can easily be placed within this Matrix and shared with the Leadership Team. We have used a similar methodology to develop strategic direction for a variety of large organisations where service and operational delivery became a considerable challenge.

Domain of Knowledge

Known Knowns: Facts and requirements. No risk here – these can be managed

Unknown Knowns: Hidden facts. Untapped knowledge not available to you but accessible via others

Known Unknowns: Known risks. Classic risks are predominant. You can access the knowledge and assess the probability of occurrence

Unknown Unknowns: Unknown risks. You and others don't know about it, so you must research it

So as a business organisation:

What are your Unknown Unknowns that could impact your relevance and survival in the future?
Would the areas you are focusing individually be on other people's radar?
How much strategic thinking time are you giving to those three core quadrants that could provide significant opportunities and threats for the future?

This tool is useful for scenario planning and helps you plan a Vision in your future organisation .

For more information email Philip

CoVid-19: Four Steps to taking Control of ‘what you can Control’

5/4/2020

Most of us are now under some sort of "stay at home" order and there is not a lot we can do about it. We just have to keep to the common-sense rules. However, we still have some control of the situation – in terms of how of how we deal with the challenge, how we plan for what we control, and use our time to best effect.

Uncertainty and Negative Emotion

Social interaction being much diminished, I have only had a few short conversations (at a distance) with neighbours, telephone conversations with clients and in ‘on-line’ facetime calls with friends and family. In some cases, I have not been heartened by their general tone. I do not expect radical optimism reflected in these short chats but was surprised to find so much personal uncertainty, ambiguity in terms of personal choice and options, moderate tension and anxiety.

Although boredom seems an issue for some it appears that fear and uncertainty are the major themes with boredom or knowing what to do being a close runner-up.

Banish the Catastrophising Mindset

And the one thing we can control is to hope that we use our time now and develop a mindset that will help us control our thoughts, banish negativity, and get on with shaping the rest of our lives rather than catastrophising the future. The one thing you do have right now is thinking time for shaping what you can shape for the future.

How to shape the new normal for you?

Understandably, we will worry about how things will turn out, but the crisis will end and a new normal will emerge. It is easy to flippantly state this in this blog post, but there is no clear value in believing and talking ourselves in to ‘the sky is falling’ syndrome. It is best all round if we can develop a measured approach and try to make the best use of the free-thinking time we have on our hands, and use that to support us in using our time productively.

How best to shape our future?

Of course, personally, I am very concerned and not sure what will happen. It seems that the world has pressed ‘pause’ and we don’t know when its will be time to press ‘play’ and get on with life.

Bearing that in mind, I have a few ideas in sequence to see how best we can take back some control of how our future will evolve. And that’s why I have sketched out a tentative four-stage process for looking at how we can all gain some semblance of control over those things ‘we can control’, in terms of our attitudes and our behaviours.
It might also be a good time to start ditching some bad habits and start practising some positive and productive ones.

The four Stage Process

It’s all based on:

Attitude – Develop both our Physical and Psychological Health
Defining Core Outcomes for Our Future
Committing to taking Massive Action
Listening to Feedback and having the Flexibility to Change what we do

Let’s look at what is on offer? I am not suggesting this will work for everyone 100%, but is is sound and may help you, and others, to release the tension and anxiety associated with the current uncertainty.

1. Attitude – Develop both Physical and Psychological Health

If you look through the structure you will note the second point ‘Define Core Outcomes’ is all about setting direction, deciding on goals and planning how best to achieve them.

Normally, this would occupy pride of place as number one in any personal or business development process. I don’t think it does in the Co-Vid context in which we find ourselves.

The key step to launch this process is to look after the body and mind first. Within this pandemic we do need exceptional physical and mental health. We can hardly commit to challenging goals for our business, our personal life and with our families if we have less than positive health and a positive outlook.

There are three steps we need to take to get ourselves ready to take on the challenge.

Step 1: Stabilise – we have to develop a positive mindset by removing that which hinders progress. We have to eradicate feelings of anxiety, fear, panic and move away from catastrophising. This is the most difficult step because if you do not pass through this, you will never be able to gain the perspective to see things through.

Step 2: Be Grounded – We have to revisit our key behaviourial drivers and build positive emotions and attitudes that will support a growth mindset.

Step 3. Develop Strategies to Grow - to set off on this journey means that we have to move beyond the survival mindset towards shaping the future so that we can come through the tough times and out the other side, sharper and more resilient.

3 Steps to Growth

There are key steps that can be taken, and these are based on addressing our personal beliefs of what we can do. Much of what I am about to talk about can be found in a Video Training Package entitled Best Year Yet: Mastering Potential.

The general approach from the Video package is reflected throughout this blog post. The key here is to operate from a perspective of physical and psychological excellence. There is no way that even the most practiced and perfect goal setting exercise or methodology will work, without emotional grounding and a positive mindset and attitude.

2. Defining Core Outcomes for Our Future

Setting outcomes and defining very specific goals is a much easier process with the issues of excellence of mind and body in place. Without this ‘positivity’ the goal setting exercise has no energy or passion to drive it to completion.

Forget about a 3-5-year plan. It is the next year that is the most important.

Don’t put your world on hold

Key for those who succeed in life is a goal setting process which fundamentally focuses upon precision and specificity. Generalised goal setting fails every time. Those who focus their attention with precision on setting goals in their health, personal, business or career, relationships, community and spiritual self, stand a much higher chance of achieving these much faster than generally ambling towards a well-meaning but ambiguous and unclear future.

Make Goals Big

When setting goals or outcomes specificity is the big issue, but why not also make them big. What’s the point of setting tiny little wimpy goals when you can have the satisfaction of really stretching your abilities? You will be amazed at what you are capable of achieving.

What is you could not fail?

Set goals that question just how far you can go. Adopt the mindset of ‘if knowing you could not fail what would you set out to achieve? Because the world that you know is about to change – change with it and set outstanding outcomes for you, your family and your community whether in your vicinity, neighbourhood or business

The world is about to change

How we operate in the world will change enormously. Will you change with the world or fight against what you do not like? Realistically, you will not be able to fight against the world even if you do not like what you see. You will have to accept the inevitability that things will change. In order to prepare yourself, you might want to start questioning the assumptions you hold currently and base your goal setting around the new world and how that new paradigm is unraveling.

Institutions and business will have to change for the better. New values are evolving, including compassion, care and concern for the disadvantaged. There must be a new role and vision for our health care, education sectors and a general shift to Keynesian thought in welfare economics. You may want to ask where you fit in this new model and what role you play in your life purpose.

Once you are content in yourself and the direction of travel, we move to the action phase.

3. Committing to taking Massive Action

People achieve when they commit 100% to implementing and behaving in ways to achieve their goals. If behaviours required to achieve a goal don’t fit in easily with your mindset or you don’t like doing certain things, there is a very good chance those things will never get done.

Do what needs to be done, and stop doing things you like to do which have no payoff

People do things they like to do, not always the things they should do to achieve their goals. Have the resilience to commit to a course of action, even if personal challenges need to be overcome. We may have to do things we would prefer not to do. Our other big challenge is generally that we also give up far too easily.

Keep on Going – Be Resilient

We have seen too many people start something new, commit to try things two or three times and then give up because it did not seem to work, they got bored, or did not have the willpower to see it through. All I can say is that’s it a good job our parents did not give up on us when we were babies and learning to walk. Imagine watching a toddler get to their feet, stumble and fall over. Then they do it again and fall over six or seven times. At no time does Mum say to Dad – “looks like baby isn’t going to walk then.” Baby will persist until they can walk.

This example could apply to all of us. We sometimes give up way too soon. We can find it too hard or too demanding to continue. It’s easier to give up and blame something or someone else when what is required is faith in goals and determination to put in the effort.

Massive Action

Whatever you want in life, if worthwhile, demands massive action and nothing less. So, consider when you screwed up, failed or did not get the result you wanted – was it because you did not fully commit sufficiency to get what you wanted? Were you really determined to get what you wanted and take all your energy and skill to achieve it, or did you just roll over and give up when the going got tough?

4. Listening to Feedback and having the Flexibility to Change what you do

Feedback is the breakfast of champions. Knowing the difference between making progress or failing to do so is an important skill. Know when things are working for you. Know when things are getting in the way.

Use negative feedback to correct your course. Take different actions, develop new strategies, try new things, innovate, work with your role models. Learn new things. Meet new people. Develop new networks with people who can support you. Gravitate towards like-minded people and listen to their story.

You know that your abilities, knowledge and wealth and success reflect the six people with whom you most closely associate. Reconsider the quality of your relationships and network and revise it upwards. Develop partnerships and, most importantly listen.

Summary

This four-step process is critical if you want to shape your future in uncertain times. What has happened to the world and our society in recent months will totally reshape the world in which we live, and the institutions and economy in which we work. It is wise to move with the times and shape the role that you can play, rather than being shaped by events. There are a lot of people out in the world who are waiting for someone to ‘talent spot’ them for the genius that they are or the talents that they display – do not become one of them. They will be ‘waiting in line’ for a long time.

So, consider your future and the role you can take. It takes bravery and courage to go forward. Wake up and realise you have it in you.

Philip Atkinson

Mastering Self Discipline

16/3/2020

At this time of year, we see the good intentions of New Year resolutions flatten out. All good intent and the motivation to overcome our challenges has finally died. Whether your goal was a new career move, further professional development of personal goals, to get fit and healthy or prepare for running that 10K, it seems that the enthusiasm of setting goals and intentions is now no more.

We find that people can be their own worst enemy when they need to make changes either in a business or personal setting. It is very much like we create resistance to taking charge. The key is learning to master ‘self-discipline’ (SD).

Having self-discipline (SD) is the key to being able to access the source of inner power, determination, and commitment to effectively accomplish tasks and goals in the most efficient ways possible.

Self-discipline is more than self-control. It is a process of channelling intentions, values, actions, habits and simple, consistent good behaviours in any area of life.

How to develop Self Discipline:

Focus on a specific area where you need unwavering self-discipline.
Clarify what you are choosing to accomplish.

Assess the benefits that will accrue to you when you achieve this result, and how working toward it contributes towards a variety of your goals

To see how it works go to this page

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Are there better ways to shape your future than going to College or University?

Challenges and Opportunities: Post-COVID Goal Setting

Pandemic Planning: When the Square Wheels come off

Taking a Good Look in the Mirror

Organisational Imperatives: Culture Change & Strategy Formulation

Reformat

Lockdown, Plantar Fasciitis & Known Unknowns: Managing Change in Uncertain Times

Unknown Unknowns: Managing Change Post Pandemic

CoVid-19: Four Steps to taking Control of ‘what you can Control’

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