The seduction of going backwards...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Recently I had a situation come my way where almost instantly a very pithy saying popped into my head - "Been there, done that, and got the t-shirt". The more I got into the situation, the more I could see myself sliding into the comforts of the past and the recognition of how easy it would be to get back into it. Everything on paper cried out the fit was perfect, with all the reassurance and memories of your favourite childhood blanket!

I was sharing the situation over drinks with a good friend who finally looked at me and said, "You know they are trying to seduce you into going backwards." She was being figurative of course, but the point she was trying to make was not lost on me. In the end, the situation (which I definitely would have been effective in, particularly with the challenges on the horizon) did not pan out; the reasons can be summed up eloquently with the famous phase "somethin' just happened".*

In all of this, I was reminded you cannot unlearn something and do it again, you cannot relive those perceived "glory days", you can't create something more than once and expect to call it "new", and you cannot go forward by moving backwards - Opportunity, Satisfaction and Growth are not found in the romantic comforts of the past, but in the present and the immediate visions of the future:

• A world that has more "stuff" than it currently needs.
• Climate change impact - hot where it used to be cold, dry where it used to be wet... with all the iterations in between.
• The impact of 3D printing on the manufacturing sector and how you will replace the "cup that just broke" (as a simple example).
• VR (virtual reality) impacting everything: travel, business infrastructure, education, entertainment, etc.
• Plastic... what are we going to do with all of it, particularly when it breaks down into problematic microparticles?
• Companies taking on the status of nation states.
• A growing population with real and perceived inequities.
• Brain Controlled Interface (BCI) - the union of man and machine.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics.
• The wrath of Mother Nature - Ebola, Zika virus, antibiotic resistant bacteria, etc.
• Drones and the redefinition of distribution.
• More...

All very real, and most will impact us to one degree or another (some faster than we would imagine if we use the Internet as an example). This is the world that will offer new challenges, new problems and  NEW OPPORTUNITIES; always moving forward and never resting on the laurels of the past. I get that the seduction of going backwards can be tempting (be it comfort, familiarity, or ease through experience) but in the end, the past gets left behind.

Our paths are by no means simple or linear and the adage "one step backwards and two steps forward" rings very true - But you need to ask yourself, "Is that backward step I just took moving me in the wrong direction, or is it all part of the plan to capture the opportunities of the future?"

Figuratively or literally, it is probably worth some consideration.

iamgpe

* The famous phase "somethin' just happened" came about with friends when someone asked why a certain situation ended the way it did. The answer, as you may guess, was "somethin' just happened". There was a strange amount of knowing laughter with the simple response. And yes, T-shirts are being made. 

A video experience of Iceland... with some transferable lessons learned (maybe, possibly, hopefully).

Firstly, and I really, really mean it...

This is my favourite picture.

• This life changing adventure was courtesy of the great people at G Adventures.
• Iceland is a mystical place and cannot be experienced anywhere else.
•  "My Head is an Animal" by  Of Monsters and Men will forever be the sound track of my Iceland adventure - It is a must for your music collection.

Secondly, I've included my favourite picture of Iceland and a video of my ten day adventure... the reasons I hope are self-explanatory.

Thirdly, those lessons that I had mentioned (some of which I'm sure are transferable):

Lesson #1: Understand the situation you are dealing with and do your homework - A taxi is $180 from the airport to Reykjavik, while the bus (that is just as comfortable) is $25. As you may guess, I just instinctively jumped in the cab.

Lesson #2: Wandering through the darkness (with vague instructions hand) to soak in a hot spring is far more fulfilling than following the crowd the next day in the daylight - Striking out on your own is sometimes much more satisfying than following the crowd; not to mention the interesting people you meet.

Lesson #3: Teaching someone to set up their tent more than once serves no one - There are some skills you need to learn for yourself... mastery comes with practice.

Lesson #4: When you get the opportunity to sleep "indoors" in Iceland or camp in a lush poplar forest in Iceland, opt for the poplar forest option as you can sleep indoors anywhere - Lean into something you don't normally have the opportunity to do.

Lesson #5: Stuff will happen... a wet, non functioning cel phone in your pocket; water sandals breaking just before the big river crossing; a twinged knee after slipping on a rock - All problems can be solved with unemotional thinking, a little luck, some help from your friends, and when needed, just having the stoic wherewithal to muscle through it.

Lesson #6:  Whether you are at the front of the group, in the middle, or dead last after hiking twenty-five kilometres doesn't matter. What does matter however, is everyone is in basecamp that evening sharing the experiences of the day - The journey to a goal is as individual as all of us; all to be recognized, supported and celebrated.

Of late it seems Patagonia has been calling me.

iamgpe 

"Give me a chance and I will show you"... wait, that's not it.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

This may ultimately just become a semantical mess, but hey, let's just take a bit of a chance here and see what we get - And no, the irony will not be lost on me.

 A while back I was reminded of the time a group of colleagues and myself became involved in a hearty discussion regarding the saying, "Give me a chance and I will show you" (or its various iterations) that ask you to do something despite an uncertain outcome or unpredictable result... all based on an "unknown reassurance that it will all work out".  As the discussion finally came to an end, the consensus around the table seemed to be that the saying was simply backwards, and should be, "If I show you, can you give me a chance".

Wordsmithing the original saying inherently minimized risk, addressed the air of entitlement that sometimes can come with the request, and illustrates a proactiveness required when asking someone to make a decision that involves chance. We parted ways comfortable in the knowledge that yet again we had solved one of the worlds more challenging problems.

But the question now becomes, "What does 'If I show you, can you give me a chance' look like?" You can't simply walk away from the table with a smug, knowing air of satisfaction and not tell anyone... well I guess you can, but that really isn't very constructive.

• Understand the chances you are looking for - There are an infinite number of chances in this big ol' world of ours available to you, so to be practical, you need to narrow down the ones you are interested in.
• Understand your competencies - In its simplest form, this refers to your ability to do something successfully or efficiently. Effective written communication is an easy example.
•  Alignment of your competencies with the chances you may be looking for and vice versa - This will allow you to identify competency gaps that may impact your ability to be given a chance or even identify chances your current competencies my afford you. As an example, if you want to be given the chance to start a career in sales these are the competencies you would need to develop or show an aptitude towards... increasing your "ability to be given a chance"
  • Planning
  • Territory/Customer Management
  • Selling Skills and Knowledge
  • Product Knowledge
  • System Knowledge
  • Business Cadence
  • Business Acumen
  • Financial Performance  
• Develop the competencies that will afford you the chances you are looking for - Many competencies will be common to many types of chances but some my be very specific, which comes back to understanding the chances you are looking for.

And finally, with the competency foundations set, the aspect of illustration or "If I show you" can come into play, which is, more than any other time in history, easy to set in motion - Thank you Internet:

• Want to illustrate your understanding of concepts and competencies write a blog.
• Want to illustrate your ability to communicate and show leadership create a video blog series.
• What to illustrate your personal brand, concepts of planning and execution, develop a web site and utilize the appropriate social media channels to illustrate your competencies.
• Take on projects outside your current roles and responsibilities or join a charity to develop needed competencies, as well as develop content for your above activities.

And if you are not sure how to get started, just "Google it" or go to YouTube and watch all kinds of people illustrating their competencies.

Reducing the "unknown reassurance that it will all work out" comes with showing your competencies up front and it's also a tangible illustration you can make things happen - And that's what people really want when they give someone a chance.

iamgpe