Defying Gravity!
Last night I heard Idina Menzel, Tony award winning singer and actress perform at the Berklee Performance Center. As she sang
her hit “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical Wicked, it struck me that in tough times like these, defying gravity is
exactly what we must do to keep our companies on track. We need to transcend the weight of fear that stifles creativity, paralyzes
sales teams and saps the energy out of a company.
Gravity defying tips below
While we must often take drastic measures to position our company for the tough
selling environment, those measures focus our staff on the negative with the potential of mortgaging the company’s future. As leaders and
business owners, we need to remember that we have survived and thrived in good and bad times before and the financial challenge ahead is just another
test of how we lead. How we lead is as important to our company’s survival as cost cutting. Our attitude
is reflected in the actions of our employees – see fear in their eyes, well they got that from you. Want to see a
“can do” attitude? Want to see your team thinking outside the box for creative ways to sell and deliver new products
or services? Then show them a leader who believes in them and who emphatically believes in the value you deliver
to your customers. Show them how to take control, take action and defy the negativity. How? Step
outside the traditional management box and be creative:
•
Give them ideas of how other companies have weathered tough times. Select a relevant business book, ask the team to
read it and then develop discussion groups that will turn what they learned into actions they can take at your company.
(see side bar for The Business Book
Club)
• Give a team a new project to dive into.Give them a focus beyond the negative here and now.
Make the project something that positions the company for future success, that will be fun and that requires innovative
thinking.
•
Consider a “Welcome to My World” program that allows staff to work in other departments
for a half day.
Introducing everyone to the “other guys” world will: reduce
the finger pointing often prevalent in tough times; will generate improvement ideas from new
eyes with a fresh perspective and it will break down the silo barriers that can really keep
a company from creating the change needed to thrive. Have operations ride with
the sales team. Pair a sales person with customer
service.
• Create a “We Hear You” program that teams non-sales staff with a customer for discussions around the value the
customer receives from your company; around how the customer feels about the working relationship and around what the customer thinks you can do to
thrive. Focus your staff’s energy and mind on what counts, the customer, and off of their own worries and fears about the
future.
In short, show them how to “defy gravity”! Show
them how to conquer fear and turn it into positive action! Lead them through the economic storm with confidence, positive actions,
and courage!
Catalytic Management can help you defy
gravity! We’ll introduce new ideas, processes and tools that can accelerate your growth and
drive enhanced performance.
Let’s talk about how you can learn to fly!
