Sometimes I love “new.” New shoes, new toys, new furniture. That’s fun and exciting!
Other times I hate “new.” New policies, new rules, new ways of doing things. Um, not so fun.
We’re in the middle of a whole lot of new around our office, and I’m struggling to keep up. It’s all good, don’t get me wrong, but “new” can be stressful, too. In fact, many of the Top 10 most stressful events in life all revolve around something new: being newly single, newly married or newly bereaved; starting a new job; having new children; moving to a new house. Toss in a new economy and a new generation coming of age, and you’ve got one stressed out country.
We’re coping with this newness in our office by acknowledging new feelings of stress and fear. Straight up, we tell our new people we’re developing new ground rules and we’ll make new mistakes. We’re tapping into new resources and connecting with new teachers. Kyle, the President at R&A Marketing, was kind enough to come to our office and demonstrate how they use new internet technology to stay connected. There’s a new idea for you: equipping your suppliers so they can do a better job!
What’s new around your place? How are you handling it? Does change make you want to take a long nap or does it keep you awake at night? Do you shoot new ideas down in flames or do you hear them out? Is your employee manual called, “The Way We’ve Always Done It”? Do you encourage people to make new mistakes to find new solutions?
If you couldn’t think of anything new you’ve attempted recently, you might want to take a new look at your organization. Ms. Jones couldn’t care less about your rulebook, but she does like to see a new look and play with new technology.
When trying to find a new way to light homes, Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Don’t give up on your 9,999th try.
