Thrive in the New Normal Part II - Aviv ConsultingAviv Consulting

Hello Leader,

In a recent KEY we shared with you the first five commandments to Thriving in times of uncertainty. This month we bring you the second set of five commandments to help you turn the New Normal into a radical opportunity for growth and development.

As always, you are welcome to forward this KEY to friends, family and associates. Sincerely,

Aviv Shahar

Thrive in the New Normal – Part II

The financial recovery is uneven and uncertain. Encouraging signs are mixed with nervous doubts and fear. Will the DOW test the recent low or will it hyper-inflate? How do you thrive during unpredictable and tumultuous time? What are the key practices to lead change and be an agent of renewal and possibility? The first five practices we focused on in Part One included:

Take care of # 1
Focus on your C-Field
Lead in your I-Field
Work on the main thing
Create overwhelming value

We proceed today with the second set of five practices and commandments:

6. You are the CEO
To thrive – become the CEO of your own enterprise. You are the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Evolutionary Officer. As the chief executive you first attend to the five commandments above. As chief of evolution you attend to your learning, growth and development. You let no experience pass without extracting learning and development value. You differentiate yourself not in your results today but in how your results tomorrow exceed what you produced today.

Most of what I do, I do better today. I write better today than I did last year. I speak and present better and my coaching and consulting services are at a higher level than they were a year ago. How did this happen? Learning and development are what I do. I learned an enormous amount from clients and mentors this last year and I bring the value of it to my work. I am never ‘not growing’ and that is how I impact the people I work with. I am a catalyst for others into their own growth and development.

7. You are the CFO
To Thrive – become the Chief Financial Officer. Take responsibility for your finances. Staying liquid, generating income and protecting buying power are your imperatives. Smart and highly capable people who run complex businesses get someone else to handle their money from the foundation of fear. Zombie investing was fine in the bull market but is dangerous now. Do not delegate your financial planning blindly. Most financial planners offer the same advice. Some are brilliant. Many are ignorant. Following the herd may work for long periods, but it can be catastrophic during a reset period like the one we are in now. Your financial planner is an important part of your dream team but you are the CFO and ultimately you are the CEO.

Years ago I realized that managing my own money is a critical personal decision with important practical, psychological and spiritual dimensions. It made me face risk-reward tolerance and forced me to work out fears and worries about money. For most people, their attitudes about money were fashioned at an early age and they never fully re-examined these attitudes later. I invested in my education, found good resources and mentors and have taken actions. Studying my relationships with money and learning how to best manage money was pivotal. Taking full responsibility for our finances created new confidence and freedom.

8. You are the CNO
To thrive – become the Chief Network Officer. You are as good as your network. Cultivate your network. You are in the relationship business regardless of your role and situation. There is almost nothing you do that doesn’t relate to other people. You grow and meet your hopes through and with others. You make a difference and realize your purpose through and with other people. This is a social universe. Understand before seeking to be understood. Relationships are about building trust through a series of yeses. Invest in people. Some may disappoint you. But the return and reward from others will more than compensate and will enrich you beyond compare.

I find inexhaustible support in my network. It brings me learning and joy. My friends, the people I work with, are all teachers. They teach me where I need to grow and develop and how I can be more impactful in what I do and in my service. I am where I am because of my network.

9. Live on purpose
To thrive – live purposefully. You are here to make a difference. You have value to offer. Do not doubt this. Do not let anything weaken your resolve about this most important fact. You are here to create an impact and to make a difference. The world is a better place with your talent expressed. Take initiative. Ready, Fire, Aim. Some are lucky to find their purpose early and to aim directly at it. Most need to first fire before they discover what to aim at. You Ready-Fire-Aim to accelerate your way through obstacles. To succeed fast you must fail fast. You are better off making twenty attempts and succeeding in four than trying four and succeeding in two. Find the fastest route to engage, to move forward and to get results. Forward action creates opportunities not available before and gets you engaged with purpose.

I express purpose in my work, in coaching, in helping you develop your strategy and path to success. I find purpose in helping you discover how to grow and realize your capabilities and opportunity. My living on purpose is connecting conversations that open new futures; create joy, possibility and meaning.

10. Resilient on
To thrive – you must bounce forward. To embrace life is to embrace not knowing. Do not fight change. Relax into it. Ease into a new discovery. Pick yourself up and go on. Renewal and opportunity await your next step. Take that next step, it opens a path forward. Robust and spontaneous recovery does not depend on saying “yes” or “no”. It is the surge of the life force in you, from beyond the threshold of your self-concept. The will to live, to renew, to connect and to create is ever-present and is more powerful than the love of temporary possessions. People can choose to not engage with what you offer. But they cannot reject you. They reject their opportunity with you. Only you can reject you. Learn to embrace a new opportunity and resilient on.

My resilience comes from what I am joined to. I find resilience in my network and in what I have taken responsibility for. There is resilience in the purpose I am here to serve and in how it continues to reveal itself. I see tremendous light amidst the darkness and it gives me fortitude as I embark on climbing the next hill. One part is grateful beyond compare for all that has enriched my journey. The other part is just beginning and is filled with the thrill of not knowing. Living is the real thing. To resilient on is the glory.

Call or write to us today to find out about helping your teams develop resilient strategies to Thrive in the New Normal. Now it’s your turn. Turn the Key.