Woody Wonders

I've always been proud of the fact that I'm adaptable, resilient and "fit" for change but recent reflections have made me question that fact.  Yes, I've always embraced change and adapted to it but I've realised that I don't always actively seek it out.  So how can I expect to be resilient if I don't build up my resilience in the first place by doing things that scare me?!   I have a love / hate relationship with change; once I'm in the middle of it, I love it, it's exciting but in the build up to change, I hate it, because deep down I'm scared of it and what it might entail. Lately, I've been reading more and more about "AQ", in other words "Adaptability Quotient".  Many of us know that the demise of Blockbuster came about because they didn't adapt quickly enough to launch a rival streaming service to Netflix.  Likewise with the Lotus 123 spreadsheet program, they sat back when Microsoft's Excel came along. ...

This week's blog was inspired by a healthy dose of ' yeah ... but' !  It came about after Mr Bob had watched his beloved Coventry City * win 1-0.  He was scrolling through the supporters Facebook page and checking out the comments after the match.  Apparently (I can't comment, I was out running) they played really well but so-called fans were moaning that they were useless, should have won 4-0 etc etc.  Erm, the last time I checked, you don't score any extra points for more goals, a win is a win and gets you the standard 3 points. This then started a conversation about how on earth some people get through life with that kind of attitude.  Are they ever happy with anything in life or do all their sentences start with 'yeah ... but '.  As Mr Bob succinctly put it, they wouldn't even be happy if someone gave them a gold pig as they'd be saying 'yeah ... but it's a bit heavy, do I have to carry it all the way home' . This then got me thinkin...

Having lots of PA is vital in my role as a PA!  Yep, it's all about 'positive attitude' this week and it could be the key to your happiness at work. It might sound a bit dramatic but without a positive attitude I simply wouldn't be able to do my job and get through the day.  For example, myself and a fellow PA spent an hour last week trying to book one meeting - yes, seriously!  You see, it's a bit like playing 'Kerplunk' (anyone else remember that game?!), you move one item in the diary and the whole thing comes crashing down and you lose ALL your marbles - quite literally in our case.  But we persevered with "what if we moved that", "what if we changed the time for that", "what if we shortened that meeting to fit it in there" and so the discussions continued until we'd sorted it.  Our positive attitude kept us going and exploring at all options. That's the thing about having a positive attitude, it drives you forward...

"The problem is not the problem;  the problem is your attitude towards the problem' I absolutely love this quote which I heard recently.  It was a timely reminder of how we use any excuse other than ourselves when things don't quite go to plan.  It's also very relevant at this moment in time as we seem to be caught up in a blame culture - we blame the government, governments in other countries, the economy, economies in other countries, our own companies, even our own colleagues, family and friends.  In fact, anyone or anything in our firing line, rather than taking control and being accountable for ourselves. When we feel we are not in control of a situation, we tend to lash out at others.  It's perfectly normal; it's a self-protection mechanism within us all.  When we don't feel in control, it's often because we're scared and feel vulnerable.  So what can we do to change our attitude and take control of something we don't feel in control of? I...