Know Yourself & Recalibrate Often

Reinvention Basics for the Enlightened Entrepreneur and Trailblazing Leaders at the Helm

Most of us are entering summer 2020 still in "Pause" mode, while some are beginning to ask "What's Next?" Since I foresee our middle-of-the muddle state of being to be our constant companion into 2021, its perfect timing to share another of my favorite Reinvention Basics for the Enlightened Entrepreneur and Trailblazing Leaders at the Helm?

How does it feel

To be on your own

With no direction home

Like a complete unknown

Like a rolling stone?

~ Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, Like A Rolling Stone,1965

No Direction Known? Keep Checking the Compass! 

Everyone wants long-term success. But it is elusive for most. 

Neiman Marcus and Victoria Secret are perfect recent examples of icons teetering into extinction. Perhaps if Betsey Johnson had been recalibrating all along she might still be Queen of the Runway instead of being furloughed by big corporate Steve Madden.

Long term success is dependent on knowing where you are now and where you are headed. Then, closing the gap. Frequently. Continuously. Whether it's your business, your career or your life at home, it's easy to get off track, lose touch, spin out or get buried under. Without a true sense of where you are in the moment, it is impossible to realize your dreams or be a leader in your field. 

 Recalibrate with Profound Knowledge 

 The only way we can take 100% responsibility for sustaining our success is to keep re-calibrating-in every aspect of our lives and organizations. 

 Key to successful recalibration is to acquire what my dear departed mentor, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, coined as Profound Knowledge. This umbrella phrase emphasizes understanding change and how to measure it, being aware of emerging trends and shifts, and learning how to apply this knowledge to leading and sustaining long term success. 

 Bottom line: If we don't acquire Profound Knowledge, we cannot know how to prepare for and leverage coming change, thus how to sustain our success long term. 

 Understanding change means understanding shifts in our personal world as well as tracking trends that may capsize us, overtake us or cause us to flounder. 

 Learning the Hard Way 

 Unfortunately one of my Gen X male clients learned this the hard way. A rising star in his field and recently married, he was planning for a great future with kids, tons of time for fun and all the trappings of success. As if from out of the blue, the rug got pulled out from under him. His "Happy Homemaker" wife fled saying, I'm out of here! 

 Somewhere along the way there was a breakdown or perhaps many small fissures below the surface. Had they been recalibrating and checking in with each other…communicating the truth of what was so for each of them... perhaps they could have saved their marriage... or at least ended it with love, grace and forgiveness. 

 Even in the most secure relationships, unexpected change happens to ruffle our plans. A recently returned to work mother of teenage kids reported that her new career is now going gangbusters and she no longer worries about the empty-nest. But, the new ripple in her life is that her once very successful husband, in his late 40's, now faces an unknown future. Surprised by shifts in his industry, "suddenly" he and his business partner are facing the probability of closing their doors. What once appeared to be a sure path to their dreams, is now crumbling beneath them. 

 When Is Enough... Enough? 

 Most of us are going so fast we are on automatic pilot. Always going for more…more…more. But when we are asked why we want to achieve more, most of us turn to old criteria, much of it not completely relevant anymore. Wrote Ellen Glasgow, "A tragic irony of life is that we so often achieve success…after the reason for which we sought it has passed." For some the old success criteria have no more bearing in current markets, relationships or scenarios. Others just need tweaking. 

A very successful professional in his mid-fifties was telling me about how thrilled he is to have been able to expand his revenues and client base exponentially. As he shared his new plans for growth, it became clear to me that he was going for the gold ring, but he already had it! I posed the hard question: When will you have enough? 

What is true in the morning of one's life can be a lie in the afternoon.~ Carl Jung

Not surprisingly, he didn't have an immediate answer. Then the next phase of our work together began. Now he's recalibrating: he is re-crafting the future he wants and what he really needs to sustain it. 

Other clients, especially those movers and shakers who are nearing the end of their high-speed careers are facing voids they never expected. For instance, a very successful entrepreneur, now looking age 70 in the eye, recently decided to stop working. No financial questions, he's set. What he didn't do was plan for how to use all his new-found free time. He hadn't a clue. All he ever did was work- work, work. He regrets not developing other interests years ago. Now he has to play catch-up. 

 Keep the Edge with Future-Forward Thinking 

Even if you are a major player in your industry or a leader in your field, recalibration is the name of the continuity game. Case in point: I am currently in the middle of untangling an internal snafu with Zoom, the hugely successful video conferencing platform which is experiencing exponentially growing demand due to our sheltering at home. 

Zoom’s customer support alerts stating, “We sincerely apologize for this longer than normal response time.” worked initially. Now that its been approximately 7 weeks with Customer Support mis-handling the problem on top of security breaches with the new Zoom Bomber phenomenon encroaching on a once trusted cutting edge new player. Yet Zoom positions itself as a "quality-added" innovative company with customer satisfaction a priority. Waiting to be “rescued”, I’ve heard other disgruntled clients closing their accounts for a variety of faux pas on the part of employees and representatives of the company. 

I guess the company forgot two basic rules of thumb I'll paraphrase: 1) It takes one disgruntled customer to kill 50 potential new ones, and 2) It takes seven times the effort and expense to get a new customer than to retain an existing one. 

If this company expects to sustain their competitive edge, they have to stay in touch with their customers, especially the disgruntled ones. It's time to recalibrate to be sure they are still in sync with those who keep them in business. 

The same applies to all of us. If you want to sustain your success and quality of life, it's critical to recalibrate often to be sure you and your firm are still in sync with your personal vision for your own future and the longevity of the firm. Whatever needs fixin', fix it. 

What I've found to be true for most of us is that if we future forward our current situation into the probable future, we will be surprised at the outcome. It's when we close our eyes and go unconscious that we lose sight of what really matters. Then we go off track or lose our way. 

Let's face it; remaining ahead of the curve depends on frequent reality checks. You don't have to be a fortune teller to effectively assess where you and your business are headed, but you do need to take the time to tell if there is, indeed, the fortune you seek in your future. 

Tea leaves or the real deal? Come pick my brains? www.KarenSands.com