Take the plunge
As I get longer in the tooth and my priorities change, I realize that although sometimes reality bites and compromise is essential, other times opportunities present themselves that we’d be crazy not to recognize as one-offs and jump in with both feet. Six weeks ago, I did exactly that, when I joined the great team at Bishop Collyer Leadbetter.
I have never shied away from a challenge – I am (was, to be exact as I am now a NZ citizen complete with ‘the tree’ in my back garden!) a self-proclaimed citizen of the world for many years, as my working and personal life has afforded me the opportunity of working and living in many countries. And for a huge variety of businesses – from IBM to Electronic Livestock Tracking Systems to Telecom to AJ Hackett Bungy! Small, medium, large business, and everywhere in between, the basic challenge is the same – how to be innovative, successful (whatever your personal criteria for that is!) and to roll out of bed in the morning with a smile as your feet hit the floor. The rest is detail – important, essential detail to be sure.
The great good fortune I’ve had to know and work with people who have inspired me, motivated me, challenged me, but most importantly BELIEVED in me has been the greatest gift in life. And for me, the manifestation of that, and the only real ‘good’ that will come of that is to have the opportunity to give it back. This is something we are able to do every day, in big ways and in small ways. A smile, a nod of approval, an affirmation or a clarification of intent – something to help someone else understand their own motivation, consequence of an action, or gifts. Someone to bounce ideas off of, to challenge an previously unchallenged way of working or belief or assumption, the sharing of experience.
If we don’t grow we die. Change is the only constant in the universe. I sometimes get overwhelmed with clichés, although in truth they are clichés for a reason – they tend to be true! Things like ‘if you always do what you have always done you will always get what you have always got’ etc. ad nauseum. Challenge, question, re-affirm, test, try.
And when opportunities present themselves, if you KNOW that it’s right, jump in. For many, that is preferable to jumping off…..which I had to do many times in my role as AJ Hackett’s MD
