Robert Macleod - Seek opportunity
It's hard to escape from the business headlines these days and
the effects of the 'credit crunch'. It's also hard for many of us
to have an opinion on what will happen next as the situation seems
to change so rapidly every day. However, the reality is that our
economy is contracting and leading to some tough decisions that can
affect our lives, our organisations and our families. All of us
will be asking ourselves - will I have a job, can I afford to go on
holiday, change my car or go out. What do I do about my savings or
my pension? What is going to happen to me next? These are all valid
questions in times of uncertainty. Thinking about them though can
be quite unsettling, disruptive and frankly, depressive. But they
need not be.
The Chinese word for 'crisis' is believed by some to have two
parts, 'danger' and 'opportunity'. Whilst strictly speaking some
linguists would disagree, the concept has some merit in the times
we now face - for in a crisis there is opportunity to advance or
change. Fine words but I think there is some truth in them too.
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with some great
people and still do. But a manager I once worked for has always
stuck in my mind for his actions in a time of personal crisis.
Sadly he left the company where we worked very swiftly and I found
out the next day when he didn't turn up for a presentation that we
were planning to do together. He had literally disappeared.
Eventually we caught up with each other and he told me what had
happened. Reeling in the shock of it, it was only afterwards that I
understood and admired his actions. That afternoon, when he
'disappeared', he went to a library and sat down in a quiet corner
with a blank piece of paper. On it he wrote down all the things he
wanted to do in his life - his dreams, and he made a plan. This
plan he then took home and shared with his wife and agreed with her
what he was going to do. What I admired and learnt from this was
his attitude. This was an awful situation for him, but he wasn't
full of recrimination and despair. He told me he didn't want to
have his energy and time sapped away by negative thoughts that
would leave him no time to achieve what he wanted to do - his
dream. This crisis provided him with his opportunity and he grasped
it.
Relating this to our present economic situation, let's not dwell
on what could have been or may be but seek the opportunities for us
as organisations or individuals. We all now have a chance to think
about our dreams and plan how we will achieve them or to develop
and be better in the future. So my message is - don't stop
developing and don't dwell on the 'might have beens' and whose
fault it was, as they will waste only your energy. Focus on the
'could be's' and make them happen. Recessions don't last for
forever and generally the good times last longer than the bad
times. So there's a good time around the corner again for us all,
we just need to be ready for it.
Years later I met my manager by chance in a supermarket. He was
the happiest I'd ever seen him. He'd achieved his dream and become
a local parish vicar - he found his opportunity in the crisis he
faced.