Wednesday, December 2, 2009

What Might Happen



Originally uploaded by holgalicious

Being afraid of what might happen is normal. Taking a chance wouldn't matter as much if no one was afraid. The key is to keep from allowing that natural, initial fear from paralyzing you.

  • You stay at that drag of a job because you're afraid of what might happen if you start looking for something else. You might not find a better job. You might not be happier in a new job.
  • You tolerate mediocrity in the workplace because you're afraid of what might happen if you began demanding more. People might get upset. People might quit. People might think your expectations impossible to achieve.
  • You ban all forms of social media in your workplace because you're afraid a rogue employee might Tweet something negative. You might have to deal with an employee who abuses their Internet privileges. You might have an employee who becomes bigger than your brand.
I could list more examples, but you get the drift. You're freezing yourself when all you do is think about what might happen.

Some questions to seriously consider:
  • What if you do find a better job? What if you're able to find your dream job? What if you're able to find a much better paying job?
  • What if everyone on the team began to excel? What if you refused to accept mediocrity and then because of your example everyone else began to do everything thing could to get the project finished? What if people didn't get angry and quit, but instead appreciated you setting the bar high?
  • What if you didn't stifle your employee's voices and instead they were able to Tweet positive things about their job? Would they be more likely to be positive if they weren't silenced, but instead encouraged to be ambassadors for your brand? What if you placed some trust in your employees to make the right decisions?
If you're allowing what might happen to restrict your decision making, you probably don't have answers to those questions.

Why not try looking at the situation a little differently? Don't let what might happen blind you to the possibilities.

2 comments:

Tanya said...

Great post. It's funny how often we allow fear to paralyze us, and then, when we do take that risk, we often look back at where we were before and wonder why we were so afraid.

"What if you didn't stifle your employee's voices and instead they were able to Tweet positive things about their job?"

This reminds me of the businesses whose employees have the brand name in front of their account name. It's a great example for taking all the Twitter-in-the-business negative talk and turning it around.

Andrew Weaver said...

Thanks, Tanya! I believe the positives of allowing your employees to be proud of their jobs outside work (online specifically) far outweighs the negatives. Yet the fear (some legitimate, I'll admit) of allowing their employees to be ambassadors for them freezes too many businesses.