Vol.25 "Mission 758"
Kevin Bernstein

Vol.25 "Mission 758"

Introduction: The Comeback

Vol.24 "125 Degrees East" was written from a place of fear and uncertainty. Heading into the unknown was both peaceful and terrifying. This volume, "Mission 758," is about perseverance and my journey back from the abyss.

Looking Back with Gratitude

Getting here wasn’t easy, and in actuality, I don’t think it was supposed to be. As I look back into that darkness, I can’t help but feel love and appreciation for all those around me who helped me through my critical time of need and continue to support me.

My loyal readers know that I commonly speak of perseverance. This is my true story about perseverance and how it relates to Change Management.

Difficulties and Complications

Without going into the gory details, these past three months were quite difficult. It turns out that having cancer surgery for the third time, in the same location in my body, wasn’t exactly an ideal situation.

My surgical team dealt with a complex and technical situation, and my recovery time validated that. The resulting complications kept me down for far longer than anticipated.

No matter what the situation, though, I was determined to get back and find myself once again. Having cancer doesn’t mean I’m less than or different. I’m simply a person dealing with a situation in a way that I’ve been told can be an inspiration to others, I was encouraged to tell this story.

I’m here to share one small story about perseverance that I hope might be a call to action for whatever you may be dealing with.

Moving Forward

At this point, you may be wondering, "Well? And?"

I’m proud to say that I have “no detectable cancer” at this time. I will forever be a cancer patient and have now entered into a different kind unknown since what I’m dealing with comes with tremendous uncertainty. And that’s OK. I’m here and will face whatever comes next.

I feel good. I’m physically, mentally, and emotionally strong. I’m loving myself through the process and have received so much support that it was almost overwhelming.

Knowing me, that just means I’m going to be giving back way more than I received ??.

Perseverance in Action

So there I was: multiple hospitalizations, a really cool hour-long ambulance ride, medication on top of medication, and all the while, a desire to get better. I’m not exaggerating or overstating this; things were pretty awful.

And then, perseverance 'walked into' the room.

Defining Perseverance

The dictionary defines the word as a noun: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

For me, I view perseverance as a personal challenge.

Perseverance doesn’t mean something feels good. It doesn’t mean that you can even see the success you’re working toward. Perseverance meant that I had to trust myself, have faith in myself, trust the process, and find the stick-to-itiveness to do what was necessary, no matter what.

The Unwanted Journey

Perseverance started before I went to the hospital. I knew that no matter my fears, I am the only person in control of my thoughts, actions, and feelings. Not the doctors, not my family, not the cancer. I was the only one who could ultimately bring myself back from this. I didn't ask for this, and yet, there I was.

Turning Motivation Into Action

Have I ever felt sorry for myself? To be honest, yes. I think that’s perfectly natural, and I didn’t dwell on it. I turned that into motivation. I set out a plan to get up and walk after my surgery. I was not going to lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, no matter how badly I felt.

Plans are fine, but that’s easier said than done.

The reality was, I woke up post-surgery and felt like I had been hit by a train. Not a bus, a train. Not good.

Then I remembered: I was the only one able to get myself going. I slowly got up, no matter the pain, and slowly worked my way to standing.

I requested assistance and a walking device that I could lean on and took a few steps. I was on my way back.

I took my various lines and tubes and medical stuff on wheels and set out a plan to move my body. There were many setbacks, and still, I had to keep going.

Step 1: Take a Few Steps

I told my medical team (in no uncertain terms) that I had set goals, and no matter what, I was going to achieve them.

Hour by hour, day by day, I walked a little bit farther. I knew this situation was temporary, albeit with no clue how temporary (TBH, it was longer than expected).

Staying on Plan

Fast forward a few months, and there I was, sitting at home, still dealing with complications. Still staying on plan. One day, I had an overwhelming feeling of excitement to get back to life, get back to work, get back to SoftwareOne.

I wanted to get back to doing what I love with the people I love working with, just needed to figure out how.

An Unlikely Gift

I spoke with my medical team about ways to get back and knew that I had to do something innovative. I just didn’t know what, and then it happened: my daughter gave me one of the greatest gifts ever, a 758-piece Lego set from the LEGO Group .

This wasn’t just any ordinary Lego set. It’s from the "Botanical Collection of Tiny Plants" - 758 pieces.

This was my answer, this was my new mission. I informed my medical team that, as a former therapist, I know that the best way back through recovery is through a cognitive behavioral approach.

So I did what I know how to do: I set myself on a cognitive behavioral approach, and my medical team couldn’t have been more thrilled (and supportive), and somewhat surprised.

Crafting a Recovery Plan

Sitting was difficult. Well, in actuality, standing was difficult, lying down was difficult, breathing was difficult, and moving was difficult (and don't even get me started about wearing pants) Still, sitting at a desk was especially rough.

If I were to get back to work, I had to figure out a way.

I walked into my home office for the first time in two months. It felt good and was scary at the same time. I stood at my whiteboard and outlined my plan.

There were six different elements to the Lego set. I wrote those six on the board so I knew that they could checked off as I went along.

I also wrote, “KJB 3.0 loading…” to motivate me because I was coming back!

Breaking the Goal Into Pieces

My behavioral plan broke down the goal into manageable pieces, set a daily and weekly goal for each, and this became my mission.?

Without going into all the details, bottom line: I worked on the 758 pieces a little chunk at a time. I sat at my desk, no matter how painful, set a timer to a specific amount of time, and got to work.

Some days I wanted to do more; some days I wanted to do less. I ignored those feelings. I stayed focused on the time, because I increased the time of sitting at my desk with each passing day - I was on a mission.

Persevering Through the Process

In addition to the 758 pieces, I sat at my desk and read from a book that a friend of mine had just recently published. That activity was also set by time, increasing the seat time, and not focused on turning the pages.

My plan behavioral plan was focused on increasing time, not content or work product.

As time went on, I sat at my desk for longer and longer durations. I updated my plan accordingly and was able to check the boxes showing that progress was being made.

Did it hurt? Absolutely. Is that OK? Yes, it was! This was simply part of my perseverance (and the process).

Completing the Mission

Have a look at the picture above at the top of this volume.

That’s actually my finished work product. It doesn’t look like 758 pieces - that’s because most of the small intricate pieces are on the inside of the potted plant parts. Inside is a tiny web of interconnected pieces that all combined to create the solid plant foundation.

This fact was not lost on me. With each click, I thought about the intricate pieces that the surgical team, and surgical robot, had to go through to put me back together.

There are more pieces of me on the inside than there are on the outside, too. Although, to be honest, I have a few fewer pieces than I started with ??. ?

Sharing the Plan

I’m sharing this story of my personal cognitive behavioral plan for a reason, that things worth doing take effort, serious effort. I know you all know this, and still, I’m hopeful that reading about it might give it different meaning and perspective for you.

Engaging Stakeholders and Accountability Partners

My plan focused on bringing back my emotional capacity, my fine motor skills, my physical capacity, and my ability to focus.

None of the doctors could have done that for me.

From the beginning, I engaged my stakeholders: my amazing wife and family. They were my accountability partners.

Perseverance and Change Management

Is this starting to sound a little bit like Change Management? Good, because it is.

It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about surgical recovery or the implementation of a large-scale technical project. The steps are the same.

Without mindset, buy-in, dedication, cutting through the noise, and working toward something that we’re not even sure is possible, without the stick-to-itiveness, without a plan, without tracking, without accountability - projects fail. Change Management fails.

Failure was simply not an option for me. ?

Mission 758 Accomplished

I’m back because I applied personally what I do professionally. An actionable cognitive behavioral plan is synonymous with Change Management.

My "Mission 758" was successful because I had a plan and executed that plan.

Writing this down for you was also part of my plan to get back to work. One of the things that kept me going was thinking about this moment: sharing my story with you, my dear readers, to encourage you all to keep going.

Success is possible.

A Special Thank You

Special thanks to my family, my friends, and my SoftwareOne team for your love, kindness, and support. All of you have been instrumental in helping me to persevere and get back to work. I'm forever grateful.

~Kevin (aka "The Cloud Therapist")

Writing this volume felt really good :-) Thank you for reading.


#Perseverance #ChangeManagement #Leadership #Mindset #Inspiration #Growth #RecoveryJourney #Mission758 #CancerSurvivor #Resilience #LegoLife #SoftwareOne


Please submit topics and questions for future volumes (I'm listening)

A quick note to my readers - thank you for your feedback, support, and encouragement. I strive to bring you relevant thought-provoking content. #grateful that you choose to spend your time with me.

I appreciate your commitment to reading these all the way through. I know they can be quite lengthy. My goal is to bring you unique perspectives and things to mentally chew on.

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Amazing and so great to see you back in action In Dallas!!! Stay well Kevin!!

Erik Moll

Global Sales Enablement Manager, Global FinOps Sales Enablement Lead at SoftwareOne

1 个月

Welcome back Kevin! ?You are truly an inspiration to all of us!! ?

Tracy Cloud

Physical Therapist at Rehabilitation Institute of Washington

1 个月

Kevin, You are amazing pal. I am glad to know you and read this inspiring story. Let's continue to stay in touch. --Tracy BTW, I am actually "the Cloud therapist". lol

Leszek Pi?tek

Global Microsoft Product Manager - Copilot

1 个月

Welcome back mate :) You were missed!

Dr. Jochen Wolf

Head of Industry Analyst Relations at SoftwareOne

1 个月

Welcome back Kevin and thanks for the inspiring text above. Can’t wait to see you and break bread with you again. Greetings from rainy Germany!!!

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