Rebound and Run

Some of the best surprises in conferences are the “sleeper events” few attend and appreciate.  So when about five of us found our way into an obscure room at the Society for Marketing Professional Services conference site on Friday afternoon to hear Marcus Mann speak about how to effectively reset your organization after a rough stretch, I knew we would achieve more value than the packed sessions on Social Media.  If anything, the much smaller group allows for a much more intimate dialogue.

Mann travelled across the country to Boston from Everett WA with some simple psychological concepts on restoring trust and reconnecting when you’ve been through “hell” in business.  I’m sure I’m missing much of his main point, but he advocates creating positive, extremely rapid, feedback.  In other words, set really quick (and attainable) wins and then recognize/reward/honor these accomplishments.

You need to create a “culture of solutions”, he says.

Elements of this culture include:

• Solutions-based employee will become promotion of choice
• They make up the company and team of choice
• Invite solutions-based people to the party over the problem-based alternative (reward!)

Mann said characteristics of solution-based employees/leaders include:

• slow the process and accurately to define the problem
• highlight current conditions over the past
• guide “blame energy’ into defining the problem
• accelerate the group toward a solution
• strongly/verbally resists a return to the problem
• maintain a solutions-based approach throughout
• reward solution-based employees

Of course, these approaches work if trust can be rebuilt but not every situation is so simple  One of our small audience group described a situation of a company merger gone bad, when managers of two affected offices located in the same community simply could not tell what would happen next.  I can see how difficult morale and change would be if bad things are happening and you don’t have any control over the situation.  What do you do if your life is screwed up by external forces over which you have little if any direct control?

The answer, I’m sure Mann would advocate, is to take charge and apply the “culture of solutions” within your area of capability/responsibility as you make (if necessary) your exit strategy from the toxic environment.

Bad things quite often happen to good people.  We need to face reality, of course, but also need to get beyond the moment and tune into the positive energy and practical hope that we can find by working co-operatively for constructive solutions and ideals.

Mann’s final thoughts (as I prepared to pack up from the conference) are:

As we rebound and ebuild, remember these four things about everyone you meet:

1. they’ve lost something
2. they love something
3. they’re afraid of something
4. they’re dreaming of something big.

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