Work with Me

Where to now?

‘When you're finished changing, you're finished.’ Benjamin Franklin

‘An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.’ Mahatma Gandhi

Given that we just spent the whole of chapter 9 on Movement, I couldn't let you put this book down without first talking action.

This is the point where you ask yourself: What can I do to make sure I put the ideas from this book to good use? Here are four simple suggestions to get you going:

Start small

Pick just one idea from this book, and identify a low-risk situation in which you can give it a go. Maybe you'd like to play with the three perception dials from chapter 6. Or perhaps you'll pick one of the Mood strategies from chapter 7. Whatever you choose, it is only the first step in implementing the ideas in this book. Treat it as a learning experiment. After you've tried it, step back and review how it went. What did you learn from it? What went well? What will you do differently next time?

Make yourself accountable

Create some scaffolding by setting one or two goals and talking accountability with your manager or a mentor. For example, you might set a goal of ‘Draw on the Mood strategies in each presentation I do to our key accounts next month’ or ‘Identify ways of scaffolding any workflow changes agreed with the product development team’. Make those goals visible. Include them on the agenda every time you catch up with your manager — and ask them to be your coach. (You could even discreetly leave a copy of this ...