W.J. Strickler Signs

Posts Tagged ‘take care of yourself’

No doubt, the present may be the most economically tying time  most of us will experience in our lifetimes. It is imperative business owners and managers take care of themselves as well as the people they lead. What are you doing to stay positive and how are you helping those in your sphere of influence?

Keeping a positive mental outlook has been trying for me Our industry has been negatively impacted since November of 2007, and that is a long time to be in the ”trenches” battling to remain profitable. One can sometimes feel like a lab rat trapped in a maze and every attempt to exit the maze results in hitting a wall sooner or later.  I have had to make some tough decisions in reaction to reduced revenue, whereas these decisions take a toll on a compassionate individual, they also help to make us more business savvy. This new found acuity will serve as well as we move into the recovery phase. Our sharpened skills will improve our profitability in the future. This is one of my coping mechanisms helping me to rationalize our difficulties.

If you are abusiness leader, how are you coping? Are you sharing your thoughts with those close to you? Even though your compenstation has decresased, are you taking vacations? Are you connecting with your spouse and sharing your frustrations with them? Are you being proactive by creating plans to grow your business as the recovery continues? Are you doing something I have not mentioned?

Please don’t forget about your people. Maybe business leaders have more overall challenges than the rank and file during this time but the average employee is probably frustrated and a little scared right now. Those who have lost their jobs or had their income cut enough to produce financial hardship may have bigger problems than some CEOs and Presidents. What are doing to take care of your people? I have concentrated on being as translucent as prudent. We conduct quarterly State of the Union Addresses where I explain: where we have been, where we are now, and where we are heading. These meetings are very informal and much data and feelings are exchanged. It is critical to be open with your people and tell them the scary stuff as well as the hope for the future. If they do not know the state of the business it is very easy for their imaginations to fill in the blanks with very negative notions. It is your job to let them know as much as you can and in the process reduce their stress levels. Your employees can not function properly or provide proper customer care if they are working in a high level of anxiety, and besides, caring about them should always be your concern.

“However good or bad a situation is, it will change!”

” We are too blessed to be stressed”, sounds great in theory, but can you apply it to your life or job right now?

No doubt about it, we are going through challenging times right now. It has been two years this month since the recession began to impact my business. When the economy impacts my business it also means that it is impacting my 24 employees and their families. If you operate a business and you feel responsible for your people, and you better care about them or you have no business managing people, how do you cope with the pressure?

I believe the: CEO, President, COO, etc. needs to take care of themselves first. The person in command needs to be mindful of their physical as well as emotional health. It is not your fault we are struggling through the worst recession in our history, after all you didn’t follow un-ethical lending practices or issue huge government funded bonuses. For the most part you are a victim of circumstances. Yea I know, I believe strongly in personal accountability also, but really, there is nothing you could have done to prevent this storm so you need to meet the challenges head on. So, what are you doing for yourself, are you making sure you are in the best shape to lead? Are you attending to your spiritual health, eating properly, are you getting enough rest, how are you deflecting stress?

The stress is possibly the hardest to overcome, flight or fright, you may be feeling both at the same time. One method to divert stress is to create a “Stress List”. A “Stress List” can be a word document or a tablet. Everything that stresses you goes from your grey matter to the tablet. It sounds too simple to believe, however your sub conscious releases the problem when it enters the list. Remember also that you choose how you react to any situation. When you feel that “shot” of stress, choose to not let it bother you, do not internalize it, if it is a situation that needs to be addressed, simply treat it as a new challenge. Get your people together if need be, analyze your challenge, attack and kill it, and move on. The challenges are what makes up some of the curriculum of life. You have the ability to deal with whatever comes your way. Believe in yourself!

Next, make sure you are doing everything in your power to weather the storm. We have taken many actions to insure our survival and future growth as we begin to recover as an economy. Get your people’s feedback to determine where you can cut expenses. Make sure you recognize their contributions. Are you cutting back in your sales efforts or are you acting in a smart aggressive manner? Do everything in your power to energize sales. Sales are happening, you just need to make sure you are getting your fair share of the action.

 Talk to your people. Make sure your employees know what has happened, is happening, and will happen. Ask for their input. Care about them and make sure they know it through your sincere actions.

Alright you have completed your “to-do” list.

• You are taking care of yourself
• You are taking care of your business
• You are taking care of you people

Now what? Keep tweaking and ride this baby out! After all, if you do count your blessings and release the insecurities you will discover we really are “too blessed to be stressed”!

Hey, by the way, if you want to help “us” out, tell people about the great custom electric signs and programmable LED message signs we provide. Sorry about the commercial, but hey, I do have people to take care of you know. You take care of yourself too.