Executing a Turn-Around

Sometimes we have a setback in life. It might be during a sports match, or a slump in business, a career stagnation or even a lay-off. Sometimes it might even be a dry patch in a relationship, or worse. It is during such times that we need to take a step back and focus on how to rebound so that we are not drawn into a downward spiral of despair and despondency.

Here are some ideas to help you focus on a resurgence:

(1) Focus on the Long Term Goal.
Remember what you are setting out to achieve. While you are going through the downtrend, things may look bleak and you are not able to focus. It is important, though, to take the time to step back and focus on the end goal. Perhaps the thing to do here is to just take out your previous plans and goals and re-read them. They may now seem incredulous and unrealistic, but it is a good reminder that you are not where you want to be, and you still have that vision in you to dream great things.

Just a few years ago, I found myself in a situation where I had nothing. I had no job, no source of income, no prospects and everywhere I turn seemed to end in a dead-end. It was extremely difficult for me to even think of finding a job, let alone dream the big dreams I had only a year or two before then. Still, I reminded myself that it was a temporary situation, alhtough I did know for how long. I kept the end goal alive, even if it was just a small flickering flame somewhere down in the depths of my being.

(2) Remember you are not your results.
That is why you need to realize that you are more than the results of your own performance. Sometimes we get too intricately identified with our results. If you are a student, you are identified by the grades that your teachers hand out at the end of a term. You are called an "A" student or a "C" student. But, there is no such thing as an "A" student or a "C" student. You are not your results.

I don't care whether you are a Tiger Woods or a Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards (the Olympian Ski Jumper famed for consistently placing last in competition). You are not your results. Unfortunately, the achievement ethics of our modern societies have incorrectly identified people by their achievements.

We need to realize that all of us have the ability to perform and to achieve. What we all need are just the right mindset, strategies, skills, and execution. Towards that end, we may have to unlearn our old ways of doing things and our habits, and to learn new ones. We may have to take on a coach to help mentor us. But the important lesson we need to learn first of all is that we are more complex than the results of our activities.

(3) Focus on the Basics.
Every sports team know what it means to experience a slump. Professional sports people know that in order to overcome the period of consistent losing or under-par performance is to go back to basics.

I watched briefly the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors the other night. Kobe Bryant had played the whole evening long, and had only posted up about twelve points and the Lakers were down by about 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Bryant and the Lakers did not lose sight of their goal and went back to basics. It was a focus on defence and executing the plays that they have practiced so much. They managed to tie the game and eventually win it in overtime.

Of course, real life may not be like a sports game, and even in sports, you may not achieve your desired goal during the course of a match.

(4) Manage the Activities Not the Results
The previous two lessons underscore the fact that we can only manage what is within our control. And that includes our mindset, our thinking patterns, our attitudes, and the activities that we do each day or each moment (each play). That is why when professional sports people fail, or when they lose a game, or a quarter, or a play, they know instinctively to get up, ready for the next play. There is no need, or even time, to grovel or blubber over the undesired previous result. There is another match, or another season to take on.

In the same way, we need to tackle our business, our relationship or our life. There is another quarter to play, or another project to focus on.

(5) Set up an Accountability System.
This is most important when the going gets tough and we are dealing with personal or relationship issues. It is difficult to motivate yourself to consistently do the small things that will bring you the result that you desire. In business, it is a little easier: you can set up effective management systems so that there is accountability throughout the organizational structure. If you are dealing with a personal or relationship issue, you must get like-minded people around you in order to be accountable to each other.

Over the past two years, my relationship with my teenaged daughter, who is a high school junior, had taken a few bumps. We used to be very close to each other when she was younger, but once she entered her teens, we experienced some relational and communication challenges that drove a wedge between us. Recently, we made a commitment to change that and to foster a stronger bond between us.

I realized that this means effort on my part. One of the commitments I made was to simply drop anything I am doing when I was talking with her, and make eye contact. That was such a simple thing to do. I realized that this was not going to happen if I just made that commitment to myself. So I told my daughter that this was what I was committed to. Now, she becomes my accountability partner. For I have committed myself to do something that she is now aware of it. So, whenever she comes to me to talk about school, or even to ask a question, I realized I must put down the book I am reading, or veer my eyes from the PC or the TV screen and engage her with full concentration and communicate.

The above are not the only things you need to do when faced with a downturn, but I hope you have gleaned some ideas that you can apply for yourself.

Perhaps you have other ideas also, and if you do I would appreciate it if you post your suggestions in the comments.