It's Not Just a Job -- It's an Adventure!

We all have options on how we approach the times we are living in. Leadership is still about inspiring excitement, enthusiasm and determination. Maybe now more than ever leaders need to take control and set the tone for the culture of their organizations.

Show me the love

Tough times can bring out the worst in people. Stress levels are high, worries are numerous and people are angry. Mix in some cold weather, gray skies and negative news in the morning paper and rage is just under the surface for millions of American customer and workers. It's a great opportunity to show some love and appreciation. Recently, I sent my long-term clients Peace Lilies to remind them I'm here to help them grow and to thank them for their business in these difficult times. It stood out and they knew it was sincere. It was a show of love that is in short supply.

Show the love to your customers.

If you have heavy customer walk in traffic, put a coffee pot in the lobby with some flavored creamers and a sign beside it -- "Although times are tough, we still, love you! Have a cup of Joe on us."

Show the love to your employees.

Take extra care to thank employees for coming to work. Thank them for their positive attitudes. Thank them for their hard work. During challenging times workplace appreciate counts double! Show the love.

Make conflict constructive

Because of the edge of emotion people are riding, conflicts are going to be meaner and happen more often. You can't just tell people to behave. It's in them and it has to come out. That's OK -- channel it.

Remind your entire workforce you are a solution-based organization and not a blame-based organization. Constructive conflict is a good thing. It's how innovation happens. It's how creativity is improved and it's how problems get solved. If you are successful at channeling conflict behavior into creating improvements in the workplace, in the interactions between employees and in the communications throughout the organization, you will benefit greatly from the conflicts that happen.

It's not just a job -- it's an adventure.

I remember that recruiting slogan for the military a while back and it applies perfectly to today's work environment. Do you know anyone who loves to go camping? I never go camping. I work hard to have a nice comfy bed with air conditioning and electricity and running water. I like those things. But I have friends who hike into the mountains, fight the bugs, freeze in tents and have restless sleep in a sleeping bag lying on the ground with no bathrooms, no electricity -- and they love it. Why? Because it's an adventure! Imagine if those same people will be thrown out of their homes and had to live like that for a while because they got laid off? Are they still all happy about camping? No, because the mindset is different. It's no longer camping -- it's hardship.

Which are you experiencing at work -- an adventure or a hardship? It's all in your mindset. That mindset will determine how you move forward this year in your efforts, commitments and drive. People like adventures because that are fun, unpredictable, exciting, and it is unstructured. One of my buddies has a camping story where a bear showed up at their camp site one night and sniffed the tent he was in trying unsuccessfully to sleep. He was scared to death and exhilarated at the same time, and it's his favorite story to tell. That is what adventure means -- scared to death and exhilarated at the same time!

Adventures are always challenging and adventurers live for the challenge and to overcome the obstacles of that challenge whether it is climbing Pike Peak, whitewater rafting the Colorado or backpacking into bear infested mountains. Can you feel the excitement?

On the other hand, hardships are oppressing, suppressing and depressing. They are something you hope to simply survive and make the best of a bad situation.

How are you looking at our economic times? Do you see the adventure or the hardship? Those who see it as an adventure will come out on the other side of this turmoil as a much better business leader and person, not to mention how much they will enjoy the journey. Embrace the adventure.