The news is pretty gloomy isn’t it – and our future, as always, uncertain.  If you read the newspapers you would imagine that we live in a world where there is only violence and a ‘broken society’.  And yet I would argue that our experience of life depends on the focus of attention we give to one aspect of life or another.  Of course there are difficult situations and challenges that we all face but if we only notice the negative messages and newspaper reports it would be easy to become pessimistic and depressed.  That doesn’t help as we can’t create a more cooperative world in 2012 unless we recognise that there is another perspective and that every day there are events that demonstrate the altruism, cooperation and compassion that still exist within our communities.  This is what we can all build upon.

There is a project under way at the moment to capture and record acts of kindness on the London tube.   I thought this was a great idea and was immediately able to add a few stories of my own which I shall share with you in the hope of warming your hearts somewhat in the midst of some chilly and wintry weather here in the UK.

Recently I was running a day workshop in the City.  I had to take some handouts and materials and so my briefcase was loaded with laptop, stress balls, hi fi and speakers for the sound system.  By the time I was on my way home I was tired and had needed to stand all the way back on the District Line so by the time I got to Gloucester Road the steps up to the exit looked like hard work.  As if sensing my fatigue a young man immediately approached me and asked if he could carry my case for me: I accepted with gratitude.

Sharing my stories and the London Underground project, two of my colleagues were prompted to recall some similar memories of their
own.  One had been on a train one night when a young girl had difficulty in getting her credit card accepted by the ticket collector’s machine.  She asked to use another card or for him to try again but he was unyielding and warned her that she would face a fine.  The young girl was upset and my colleague offered to loan her the fare of £9.50 and gave the girl her home address, not really expecting to hear from her again.  Four days later a large bunch of flowers was delivered to her door with a thankful note from the girl’s mother.  In the same mail a cheque arrived from the girl refunding the sum.  The random act of kindness had been valued and appreciated, even though my colleague had no
expectation that it would be.

My other colleague, Rob,  was sitting next to an old man, somewhat of a tramp, who was drinking quantities of beer from a large backpack.  Most of the other travellers avoided his glance but Rob noticed that the old man was having difficulty opening one of his cans of beer (this was before Boris Johnson banned alcohol on the tube) and offered his handy Swiss penknife with which to help the man open the can.  The old man was delighted and relished his drink.  As he left the train he delved into his copious bag and lifted out a large block of chocolate and gave it to Rob in thanks.

One of the smaller companies I work with has the use of a board room of a larger company which they use for meetings from time to
time.  When they asked whether they should pay for this benefit the company said ‘No, just be sure that when your own company is large and profitable you do the same kind of thing for some other small business start-up.’  I thought this was brilliant and can inspire us all to think of how we might be able to help someone who is starting up a business.  Certainly I experienced great kindness and encouragement from several people when I founded Positiveworks in 1993.

On a train to Bath a few years ago a young man sat opposite me.  He was a ‘hoodie’ and had a slightly threatening energy.   I spent the first part of the journey feeling a little nervous.  However, first impressions can certainly be wrong because when I spilt my coffee a little later he was the passenger who immediately sprang up and offered to help me clear it up, running to the loo to get some paper and help me with the mopping up.  There was no need for him to have done so: it was a random act of kindness.

These small acts are what makes life worthwhile and keeps a society functioning with a spirit of community and cooperation.  Such acts are occurring in thousands of different places all over the world as I write so let’s remember this as we go into the New Year.

I am sure you can add many stories yourself of random acts of kindness that either you have done for others or others have done for you.  Don’t ignore them, notice and give them your energy and attention because this is what makes all our lives easier and more enjoyable.   It comes from the heart but starts with the focus of the mind…

Wishing you all well and a very happy 2012.

Helen and all at Positiveworks

some more nice stories and comments have come in since I posted this:

“My story is that I often travel to London and get a travel card which I then don’t need to continue my train journey home to Hampshire.  I decided to give it away to someone in the queue at the ticket machine.   The first Mother and daughter were suspicious and didn’t take it, so I offered it to the next lady who was very grateful.   These positive energies go around and spread out in this way – just like when someone lets you inot the traffic queue  – you will probably then let someone else in  etc.”

“very uplifting after all the horrors on the news!”

“This has cheered me up after a dreadful meeting with one of our exec who is really negative!”

“How very uplifting and  inspiring!   One should indeed focus much more on the better side of human nature and remembering small random acts of kindness are a very good way of being reminded of this.”

“Just wanted to say that I thought your message was brilliant.  My husband  works  as a British Transport Police constable and he has many, many tales of true kindness and even bravery from random members of the  public.  You are right, it is too easy to focus on the negative and sad things in this world, I remember years ago my RE teacher telling me that the sun is shining every day, it is just that sometimes the clouds get in the way, so we can’t always see it.”

I want to share three stories which have given me the understanding that life can provide experiences even better than the goals we set  ourselves.  The first was many years ago when I went on a retreat in Hampshire.  I was writing a paper on Renaissance philosophy and wanted some peace in order to think and write.  In my mind’s eye I had visualised an atmospheric garret room in a Gothic building so I was frankly disappointed when I rolled into the drive to see a rather modern square house .  The monk who greeted me then explained that because I was the only person staying that week they had decided I should stay in the Gatehouse.  He pointed to the end of the drive.   There was this perfect Victorian Gothic gatehouse building and I was to have it all to myself for my stay, with my own room, sitting room – AND my own chapel attached!  This was all BETTER than I had ever imagined it could be.

A few years later I set up Positiveworks, hoping that I had it in me to run a consultancy to support others in achieving their work and life goals. As you know, Positiveworks is still going strong 17 years later.  I remember thinking that it would be fun to travel with this work but did nothing specifically to seek work abroad.  I was reading The Famished Road by Ben Okri at the time and it stirred my imagination about Nigeria.  A month later I was called up by two Nigerian consultants inviting me to run some workshops in Lagos.  It was an amazing  experience.  After that I found myself travelling all over the world with my work – from Hong Kong to Australia, from Switzerland to Hungary, then all along the Middle East and on to Lebanon, Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Egypt.  I used to pinch myself, wondering how this had come about.  I had done no specific marketing but somehow these clients had come towards me from one direction and another and there I was standing up running training and coaching sessions to wonderful and fascinatingly diverse groups of people in different parts of the world.  Once again I found myself in a situation even better than I had ever imagined it could be.

More recently my partner and co-author David Beales and I decided to visualise our future life together.  We took paper and coloured pens and drew a picture of a house and garden incorporating all the features we felt would create a happy home for us.  We imagined a place from which we could work, and where our children, grandchildren and friends could easily visit us.  Here I am today sitting in this beautiful thatched cottage looking out at our flower-filled garden.  My cats think they have landed in paradise after Fulham!  And so do I.  Once again, it is even better than I could ever have imagined it could be.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, of course.  Life is full of swings and roundabouts and hard work, so I am not trying to pretend there is a Polyanna world out there.  But I share these stories because I have become convinced from my own experiences and those of friends and clients that we create our own future and that sometimes this can be better than we can possibly imagine it could be.

I am sure that you will have had similar experiences.  Why not think about them and share them with family, friends, children, colleagues?  And then as those of you in the UK and Europe take off for your summer holidays perhaps you would like to cast an imaginative eye over your future now and begin to think of specific things you might like to bring into your life.  How you feel on the inside on a daily basis is always more important than what happens on the outside so include the qualities of life that boost your happiness, whether these are adventurous or peaceful.  Relax and trust your creativity to help you imagine the inside-outside experiences that you want to bring into your life.    And once you have identified these goals open your mind to the possibility that life may just throw you something EVEN better than you could imagine!

Have a happy August,

Helen

‘I shall probably do the usual at Christmas – row with a relative!’ a friend said to me last week.  The family reunion at Christmas can be wonderful, or challenging!  We can be confronted by relatives who have well established perceptions of who we are – but perceptions and expectations of one another can be difficult to shift.  You may find yourself reverting to old behaviours or being treated as the youngest, the oldest, the ‘clever one’, the ‘sporty one’, ‘the difficult one’, ‘the clown’, etc.  But these labels can be outdated and lead to misinterpretation.  The expectations of others – and those we have of them – can limit us from revealing our true selves.

Being back within the family reminds us of the messages we received growing up: some encouraging, some critical and some no doubt frustrating!  So returning to the hearth, or having family to stay, can remind us of how our identity has been shaped and gives us the opportunity to question whether this identity is still relevant today.    What might it feel like if you were able to remove those old perceptions and labels and start again?   For a moment to imagine you have no history, no name, no role, status, or reputation within your family.  What might that feel like?  For me this felt both frightening and yet also liberating.

We all have a responsibility for our impact on others.  How might you help your family to recognise who you are today rather than seeing you as the person you were last year, or ten years ago?   What do you need to express differently?  How might you approach members of your family with new eyes and see beyond the image you may have constructed years ago, especially if that has been negative?  It’s easy to imagine that people don’t change but everyone evolves, and sometimes it’s even for the better!

If you find other people irritating over the festive period consider what their pressures and intentions might be.  See beyond the behaviours.   There’s no book of life and how to live it.  We all muddle along and try to find our way.  Sometimes this results in developing unhelpful defensive behaviours.   But we can choose not hook in to old patterns or give other people the power to upset our day.  We can choose compassion. 

How might you set old relationships up on a new and more constructive footing that reflects the present rather than the past?   What would this look like?  How would you be acting differently so as to reflect the person you are now, the person you wish others to see and acknowledge? 

In that spirit of enquiry I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a new year that brings you and those you love happiness in 2011.

Sorry, I haven’t written the blog for ages because I have been busy moving house and dealing with builders.  It’s a good thing that despite teaching memory techniques the memory cleverly fades out the stressful demands of renovating house and home!  But the reality is that it is exciting and also that we, Dr  David Beales (my partner and co-author of Emotional Healing for Dummies) and I created it through visualising exactly what we wanted in the way of house, home, location, life … and it manifested itself with almost no hesitation or effort at all, as those who know me will tell you.

So whether scientists can prove a creator God or not doesn’t prevent you from creating the life you want to lead, the work you want to be involved in, and developing the potential that lies within you to be the person you want to be.  As this new phase of my life has begun and is unfolding I become increasingly convinced that we do create our tomorrows in the personal energy, thoughts, behaviours and actions we focus on today.  If you focus on pessimism, helplessness, or negativity then you can manifest problems (I know from experience!); if you take time to create a real picture of what you are looking to bring in to your life, and begin to act as if you have it, then the more likely it is that this will come into being.  It isn’t infallible but when it does happen, often with very little effort other than a real intention, it feels like magic but in reality you were the creative force within the process.  As Professor Richard Wiseman’s book The Luck Factor points out, luck is made through attitude, action and creating opportunity.

So we owe it to ourselves and others to create a positive energy around us every day.  Not in a mindless way that denies our emotions because experiencing all emotion heightens the good times but in a way that makes each day as good as it can be.  My observation is that this is spirituality, however you personally define the word, as daily practice.  So maybe take time this week to crystallise what you would like to bring into your life.  Begin with reflecting on the life and experiences you have already created; accept and enjoy where you are now and then identify goals that will enhance this further.  Complete the process by developing the thoughts, behaviours, verbal and body language, and personal energy of the person who already has this in their lives.  Have positive expectations of yourself, others and life.  Let go of stress and doubt as these not only block the process, they lower your immune system too.

It’s easy to be cynical about this process – where is the proof of how it works or that it will work?  But Einstein said ‘not everything in the world can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts’.  Despite scientific advances there are still many things in life that cannot be fully understood.  Analysis and cynicism can be helpful in certain situations but not every situation.  So you might like to just give it a go - as Wayne Dyer said ‘you’ll see it when you believe it’.

Healing emotion is incredibly important.  We all experience emotions every day of our lives and each one of us has had happiness but also sadness, disappointment, resentments and anxieties.  Some of these can get ‘stuck’ in our bodies through our emotional memories.  Our body has an intelligence and is constantly monitoring our emotional state for basic survival reasons but also to ensure that our emotional as well as physical needs are met.  The body stores information about how you tensed up when you gave that presentation to your boss, or were told off by a teacher in the classroom, were fearful at night in the dark as a child, were bullied by a colleague, felt dejected at the end of a relationship, or excited by the prospect of a new home.

Descartes separated mind and body, saying that only God was in charge of the mind but he lived before the era of science .  We are one system, mind and body and now that we are able to view the inner workings of the brain and body with fMRI scans we can see that what happens in the mind immediately affects the body by sending out stress alert signals that change our chemistry and what happens in the body immediately affects our mind by altering the balance of oxygen, CO2 and blood that is available to our ‘thinking’ brain.

All of this is highly relevant to each one of our lives whether at work and needing to think clearly about complex things or at home where we are juggling personal relationships and tasks at the same time as trying to take care of our own needs.

I have been thinking a great deal about this recently in writing my new book EMOTIONAL HEALING FOR DUMMIES which I wrote with Dr David Beales, a medical doctor specialising in mind-body and behavioural medicine.  Sharing experiences of clients and patients we realise that people who are having difficulty speaking up either at work or at home may experience problems with their jaw, those who are feeling ‘put upon’ by others may have physical ailments around neck and shoulders as the ‘burden’ of demands becomes too difficult to manage, others who have back problems as they need to stand up for themselves in some way, people who are fearful go into spasm.  So our emotional feelings impact our health and daily wellbeing but we can heal them by focus of mind – exploring the issues, taking a breathing space to reflect on what it is you personally need to do or say in the situation, learning new thoughts and behaviours that will help you to take action to solve the problems.

So roll over Descartes: my argument is that it is you who are in charge of your mind and your health through what you choose to focus on.  If you have emotions that are causing you difficulties – old resentments at the way your parents treated you or what life has dealt you, or anger at a partner who walked out on you then it is likely that it is not only disturbing your everyday life but is also impacting your health in a negative way.

So take action on this and improve your quality of life by taking a look at our book on EMOTIONAL HEALING FOR DUMMIES – we can offer you a special offer of 25% discount including free postage and packing if you go to http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470747641.html and quote the promotional code VA682.  You can use the same link to get a 25% discount on my book COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL COACHING TECHNIQUES FOR DUMMIES too, quoting the same promotional code.

And so another year is over and here is an opportunity once more to shape the year ahead by thinking about what kind of year you would choose to have in 2010.  What you might change, what you might drop and what new people or activities you might choose to bring into your lives? 

Each day is precious and it is an interesting balance to treasure the day you have and accept the current situation you find yourself in and yet at the same time consider whether certain changes could make your life and work more fulfilling.  It is always worth taking the time to stop and reflect, to step back and get a helicopter view of your life so that you can see more clearly what matters most to you and what action you really need to take for your physical, emotional and professional wellbeing.

It has been an interesting year for Positiveworks.  My book Cognitive-Behavioural Coaching Techniques for Dummies was published in March and has received favourable feedback that it is a useful manual and workbook for coaches to apply in coaching sessions.  It can also give insights for self-coaching. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470713798.html

My new book, Emotional Healing for Dummies, written with Dr David Beales, has just come out so take a look on our website and on Amazon and buy buy buy!  http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=emotional+healing+for+dummies

 We have written this book to help readers manage difficult emotions more easily and also work through old pain that might still be interfering with their quality of life today.  This is not to diminish the reality of trauma or pain but our philosophy is that these events do not have to overshadow the rest of your life so the book offers methods to unlock both the physiology and burden of old emotional disturbance so that you can return to a greater enjoyment of every moment.

Positiveworks have also recently partnered with the idiscover team at NESTA (National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) to offer courses to help young people develop their creativity.  See www.nesta.org.uk for more information.  Diane Carrington and our team continue to do what we can to enable young people to identify and value their innate talents and strengths so as to develop their potential.  This benefits us all in the long run.

So this blog seems to be about enjoying the day, valuing the moment, appreciating the richness of your experiences, good and difficult, and making the most of life.  Happy Christmas from us all and we wish you a very happy and healthy and hopefully prosperous 2010!

Helen and all at Positiveworks

If there is one thing that seems to be missing from life today it is the ability to stop and think.  Whether it be politicians working the system, bankers following profit, business leaders seeking endless growth, NHS staff pursuing targets, teachers focusing on league tables, academics ego-driven to publish rather than teach, gang leaders stuck on pride, parents trying to be all things to all people,  there would appear to be a lack of ‘observation’ of self.   I don’t think that many people intended wrong.  But what was happening that people were so busy ‘doing’ that they only woke up after the event?  What stopped them taking the time to reflect?  Explanations such as “within the rules” demonstrate that there was little individual thought, just a following of the herd.

Perhaps, as the writer AE Houseman suggested, “Three minutes’ thought would suffice to find this out; but thought is irksome and three minutes is a long time.”  So thinking is just too much trouble and we perceive we don’t have time for it.  And yet without it we are lost, for there is a need to consider:

·         The consequences of one’s actions

·         The way others might perceive your actions

·         The balance of risk to self and others

·         Whether following targets may actually prejudice the wellbeing of others

·         Whether it is better to follow targets than human kindness and consideration

·         Whether actions reflect the things you say you stand for and believe in

·         The ideal world that we seek to create rather than the fear-driven image conjured up by the media

Without consideration we act in a fog, unable to determine what is good or evil, what we want and what we don’t.  Most of all we lose the oft-spoken-of ‘moral compass’.   So how to set the course for a more mindful future?

First things first: make time to stop and reflect on life and on your thoughts about how you want it to be.  In these moments don’t read a book, watch tv, take a telephone call, surf the net, wonder what your BlackBerry might have waiting for you.  Just stop.  We get so little opportunity for silence.  The sounds of traffic, planes and people interrupt and if you aren’t listening to your own Ipod there is often someone next to you on the bus who is!  So be calm, watch the sky, listen to the birds, or just acclimatize to silence.  Be there, wherever you are, and call in your senses so that you feel a part of the larger whole.  This allows the stillness you need for clear thinking.

In this time consider:

·         What you agree with and what you don’t

·         The values and ethics that you stand for and expect and desire others to stand for

·         Whether you have got things out of perspective – are too negative or too positive, are seeing everything in generalisations such as ‘no-one, nothing, everything, always, never’ or are able to be specific and rational about what you are talking about.

·         Whether you are making assumptions that your own voice won’t make a difference.

·         Whether you are throwing stones at others when actually you may be equally fallible.

·         How others might be interpreting your behaviours.

·         Whether you fear alienation if you say something contrary to popular or peer opinion

·         What actions you might take to lead a life that reflects your beliefs

I do have some suggested methods to offer you  in my latest book COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOURAL COACHING TECHNIQUES FOR DUMMIES.  Although there are a couple of chapters that are specifically written for coaches the book provides tools and techniques for anyone to develop the thinking skills necessary to check whether you are approaching situations in a rational, constructive and mindful way.  Thinking models are relevant to all age groups.   The link from Amazon is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_b_0_30?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=cognitive+behavioural+coaching+techniques+for+dummies&sprefix=cOGNITIVE+BEHAVIOURAL+COACHING

jacket.doc

So far comments have been

“I really loved the way you put the exercises together”….. “I already have put your book in my bathroom to read, I am sure it will be helpful to certain people we know”… “It is so full of useful information and tips that I have marked almost every page.  It has also made me think about myself in a way I hadn’t done before – about my views, beliefs, prejudices”… “The CBC book is very good. I am halfway through, and that’s because I have been trying to prise it away from my wife” … “It is a major achievement, there is so much information there – it is really impressive “I hope that you enjoy it and find it useful. 

Let’s not let the endless doom and gloom get to us.  The media and the government seem to love battering us with miserable stories but they weren’t exactly brilliant at predicting the current crisis or protecting us from it were they?  So maybe they are all missing something that’s just around the corner that could actually go right – who knows?!  After all, just after the last recession we got the internet and digital boom … so do get creative and get us out of this one… :>)

Our parents and grandparents lived through far worse, with world wars and a far less generous social system than we have today to support us.  They lived with years of uncertainty that was not just economic but life-threatening.  Talk to them about it, or to your elderly neighbour – you often find that the ‘old dear’ down the road has actually driven tanks and parachuted out of planes… far braver than battling the bugs on the District Line every morning.

But of course misery and negativity depletes our immune system so it is hardly surprising that we have a record number of flu and cold bugs going around.  So focus on the positive and at least you are more likely to stay healthy and live longer as there is now a good body of evidence to show that optimism and happiness increase health, longevity and wellbeing.  (And if you’re worrying about how on earth you’ll afford to live longer then optimism also increases your chances of success in sales and career and it can be learned – through Positiveworks of course! www.positiveworks.com )

The human mind tends to fret about things that may never happen.  So enjoy what is going right.  And if today you have some money in the bank, a job perhaps, a roof over your head, a pet, a friend, someone you love, or someone who knows and understands you then rejoice.  A quick scan of world events shows us that the problems we face in the UK may be difficult but nothing like as bad as in some other parts of the world.

Also can we please have a revival of common sense: it has been under-rated recently and it has a lot going for it.   Many regulations assume we have none of our own – that we have to be warned that we could cut ourselves if we aren’t careful how we use scissors to unwrap our Christmas presents.  Surely we know that this is the case, that life can be risky – that grass is slippery when wet.  Don’t we?

So listen to your heart.  Intuition has been proven by recent research to be spot on in helping us make decisions.  But you knew that didn’t you – you didn’t need a University research project to tell you.  If something feels right, do it; if something doesn’t feel right then don’t.  Intuition usually speaks to you through your body – if you feel tense with someone it is for a reason; if you feel light and happy with another person then there is a message in it.  You don’t need books to tell you this: you just need to tune back into your self.  (But of course do buy my latest book Cognitive-Behavioural Coaching for Dummies http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470713798.html )

The Credit Crunch has raised discussion about excess and ‘affluenza’.  Certainly a rebalancing of what is realistic and sustainable is required at all levels.  But there is little point in waging a war on wealth-creation in itself.   There is no intrinsic goodness in poverty: in fact poverty divides and wrecks individuals and communities.  Several people are now admitting that they ‘always knew’ that what they were doing in lending money to people who couldn’t afford it was wrong but they did it anyway in order to follow a target, gain a perk. Similarly others took on debt that they knew they couldn’t afford.  So follow your own moral compass of what is right or wrong but honest toil is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.  If we make money we are able to employ others, avoid living off the State, be philanthropic and give to charities. I found this quite an interesting article on this subject:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article5391496.ece

New perspectives are what is called for, not a return to what was.  Einstein commented that we can’t solve a problem from the same place in which we created it.  When it comes to your own life get creative and look at situations anew.  Spend 30 minutes identifying as many ways as possible of finding a solution.  The HBDI Herrmann thinking profile works brilliantly to stretch your brain and ensure you integrate creativity and realism, see http://www.positiveworks.com/products/thinkingpref.htm

You can change things: every voice matters.  Even if it is just to develop a positive energy around you at home or at work.  But if you care about something, write a letter to a paper or your MP or to Boris, write a blog, comment on a website, join a lobby group, volunteer for a charity, smile at someone on the tube, do any small thing that expresses what you feel strongly about.  You may not be able to change the world, or your whole organisation, or the government, or the country but you can make a difference to those immediately close to you and surely that is worth doing.  

Finally, fun doesn’t have to cost much.  We can enjoy family, friends, good health, kitchen suppers, books, reading, listening to music, making love, dancing, going to an art gallery, playing with the paint pot your aunt bought for the kids, walking in the park, all at minimal cost.  So let’s act to make this year a really good one and prove those doom and gloom merchants thoroughly wrong!

Happy 2009! Helen

7 Ideas about travelling hopefully through the economic downturn

The news is all thoroughly glum isn’t it.  Every day there seems to be yet another story of economic doom and gloom and global break-down.  So I thought I would share with you some of the things we could try to remember in these challenging times:

1.       Focus on the positive.  The one thing we do have control of is our mental and emotional approach to how we manage the situation.  I am not suggesting that the situation is not serious: I am sure that it is.  But we can either allow our thoughts to increase our sense of anxiety such as “I can’t stand this situation: it is ghastly and it is just going to get worse” or we can develop thoughts such as “this is a very challenging situation but I can manage it step by step and remain optimistic” so as to generate a feeling of calm and confidence.  When we are stressed we are stupid and make stupid decisions: and we can’t afford to make bad decisions at this time so take a deep breath and decide to feel in control.  

2.       Focus on what we can control:  decide what we can change and what we can’t.  We are living through unprecedented times: no expert – politician or economist – actually knows what the solutions are so the important thing is for us to focus on those aspects of our life that we can control and not spend too much time worrying about what we can’t.  What can we do?  Perhaps we can watch our cash flow, save money, invest it carefully, put our all into the work we are doing, seek new career avenues and opportunities.  Perhaps we can nurture the relationships and support systems we have and support those whom we love and with whom we live and work.  In essence, travel hopefully and make every day as enjoyable as it can be.   Each decision we make becomes more important and will take more consideration so as to ensure that we taking action where we can and accepting what we can’t change.

3.       Focus on personal values.  We need to flex to the changing circumstances of the economic world but the focus that can keep us sane is holding on to our personal principles and values.  Doing this is not always easy but virtually always raises self-esteem and is more likely to set you on the right pathway for your own unique destiny rather than following the crowd. Groupthink can lead to panic and to not thinking wisely (look at what has just been happening when people all over the world got swept up on a wave of economic practice that was not sustainable). The pull of the crowd is strong and it takes courage to stand alone but ultimately in my experience it leads us towards those people who share our values and can support our aspirations.

4.       Get real. Work with facts and evidence, not with supposition and imagining what might happen – because it may never happen.   If we buy into all the fear that the media and governments are setting up we could waste several months if not years of our lives living in fear, to no good avail.  Unprecedented times mean that forthcoming events are unpredictable so we may simply not have the mental models available to imagine what they might look like – and you never know, things could turn out to be better than we imagine! 

5.       Look for the opportunities.  In every downturn there is opportunity.  I have lived through three major periods of economic difficulty – the 1970s (when we had a 3-day week, power cuts to offices, rubbish uncollected in the streets), the 1980s and Black Monday, and the recession of the 1990s – when I set up Positiveworks.  They don’t last forever and there are always those who prosper despite them.  We can either button down the hatches and decide that everything is going to be ghastly or we can choose to travel wisely and hopefully and look for new opportunities, new ways of working, new ways of living.  There  are 2 books out that might be of interest to you: one called When Markets Collide – Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change.  You can check it out on http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article4968973.ece . The other is The Tiger That Isn’t: Seeing Through a World of Numbers.  You can check this one out in an article in The Times entitled ‘Crash! Boom! Disaster! That’s enough crazy talk’ see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article4981188.ece 

6.       Be discerning.  The media has decided long ago that it is only bad news that sells newspapers – so that is what they focus on.  They seldom tell us of all the many good things that are going on in the world.  Comment always comes with an agenda too: so listen carefully to who is doing the reporting – and why.  We might remind ourselves as we read or listen to the news that what is actually happening is as much about what is not reported as about what is.

7.       Get creative. If the old world has gone let’s consider the shape of the new world in a proactive way: it takes the sum of our individual efforts to make change a positive experience.  Each one of us has more creativity and innovation within us than we might be aware of – it is time for us to get fired up about how to make this period of global downturn a time when we shift our thinking and approach to deciding what kind of new world we want to build.  If we focus on negativity and fear this is what we will shape; if we focus on constructive optimism and innovation we may be able to shape something new and exciting that is grounded in wise principles and a sense of inclusion that could benefit us all.  This is our challenge: let’s rise to it! 

What new world do you want to create and what action might you take to create it?

The majority of problems raised in coaching and training sessions relate to people issues: difficulties between back and front office; a truculent member of staff; misunderstandings in communication.  Despite the fact that companies will frequently say that their people are their greatest asset the reality is that many managers consider people issues to be too ‘woolly’ to spend time on. They often don’t feel that they add value to the ‘real task of doing business’. 

Certainly it is difficult, as a busy manager, to find time.  Also difficult to fit people into spreadsheets, manage or measure, that may be true: the human being is a unique and complex organism.  But woolly and not worth spending time thinking about: no.

The myth seems to be that it is the ‘hard skills’ alone that make business work.  Hard skills perform an essential function, certainly, and yet how and whether that happens is all down to the management of human minds and emotions.  Think about your own experience for a moment and see if any of this rings a bell.  Has the smooth flowing of your business or work ever been impacted by an individual who is:

·         Fearful for their job security and just sticks by the letter of their job rather than taking initiative or innovating

·         A jealous or territorial empire-builder who doesn’t want to share a piece of information because they want to take the credit themselves, thereby scuppering their colleagues’ efforts

·         Someone who embellishes the figures or sells more than required to a customer in order to meet their targets and gain their bonus, only to be exposed , at a later date, for misleading others  

·         Unable to say that they don’t know how to perform the function that they have been asked to perform so gets it wrong rather than look stupid and ask their boss or colleague for a solution or guidance

·         Fearful of conflict so avoids raising an issue with a colleague, boss or customer thus perpetuating the problem longer than it needs, sometimes to a point where the issue has escalated beyond redemption

The major problems in the business world actually tend to come down to emotions and relationships –

·         People negotiating major deals and unable to find a way for the egos involved to be sufficiently pacified to be able to do the deal.

·         Companies restructuring and trying to bring different cultures of people and work approach together without appreciating how long it takes for individuals to shake off one identity and set of working habits and integrate with another.    

·         Back office and front office issues that lead to misunderstanding, conflict, delay and complexity

·         The project or programme manager who is so task-focused that they forget to share crucial information with their team, leading to the delay of the project.

·         The manager who has their head so full of target-pressures that they forget to stop to acknowledge good performance,  without realizing that demotivation leads to low productivity, resentment, and to the loss of talented staff.

One can plan effective strategies to manage these eventualities in advance.  These everyday people situations are exactly what it is worth taking focused time to consider, not just waiting to address them when things go wrong.  If not addressed, they cost time, money and mental and emotional energy that could be better utilized elsewhere.  However, it is not necessarily a comfort zone for some managers, who may prefer to focus on tasks rather than thinking about behaviours and emotions.  This is where coaching and training can provide a short sharp solution.  Through Personality Profiling (follow the link for a short comparison between HBDI, DiSC, MBTI) it is possible to identify how different individual and departmental approaches are impacting communication between and within teams.  The HBDI Herrmann Thinking Preference Profile http://www.positiveworks.com/products/thinkingpref.htm is the fastest and most practical tool I know to help people gain insight and strategies to bridge diverse communication styles.  Our new training programme  Bridging the Gap Between Departments (follow the link for an overview agenda) applies the Herrmann profile within a Mediation process to enable individuals and teams to recognise and acknowledge common goals and find a way to align their efforts to the benefit of all.  This isn’t ‘soft’ stuff: it is often the hardest stuff of all!  And when managers are courageous enough to tackle these issues in a direct and honest manner the results are generally of great value to morale and productivity.  For more info contact info@positiveworks.com .