Is this any way to start a Monday?

Like Mondays aren’t bad enough.   Think about starting your Monday out at the car dealership because  of car problems.   Not the way to start any day, especially the one day that can set the tone for your entire week.  Does that have to be the case?

Like many mechanical issues the car will be fixed in reasonable time.  Today’s technology insures that you’re in full communication with your office.  Just because things started out badly why let that dictate what the rest of your day or even your week will be like?  After that first moment (or three) of frustration didn’t you set a new course to deal effectively with this unforeseen event, thus reasserting control?  Now that you’ve righted the ship why keep wallowing in the frustration?  I don’t know about you all but staying in a frustrated state isn’t high on my list of favorite things.  I’d rather deal with the source of the frustration in a constructive way.

How do you approach unforeseen problems within your organization?  Do you allow the frustration to dictate your response to the situation and your dealings with others?  I know firsthand how hard it can be to not let your frustration creep into your conversations, meetings or dealings with personnel issues.  But as the head of your organization you have to work just a bit harder to model the behavior of focusing on the issue.  Does snapping your assistant’s head off make things better?  Really?  Is it his/her fault your car wasn’t running this morning?

As if things weren’t difficult enough your assistant just informed you that Aunt Nell’s on her way to your office.  Relax.  This will pass.  Put on a smile and keep Aunt Nell guessing. Give me a call later and we’ll chat.

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