Sunday, September 07, 2008 Cayading: The Good in Disaster By Trinidad A. Cayading Parenting Pinoy
WHEN Thomas Edison was 67 years old, his factory caught fire one night and burned to the ground. When he first discovered the fire and realized it had gotten pretty well out of control, he ran home to his wife and encouraged her to watch because she never had seen a fire like this! The loss was complete. The factory burned to the ground, and Edison had no insurance on the building or its contents.
The question is this: How did Edison handle this disaster? First, he crawled up on a bench and took a nap. Second, when he awakened, he told his people there was good in every disaster. He said: "We have just burned all of our mistakes. Thank God we can start anew." Edison's crew responded under his leadership and went to work. Three weeks later, they produced the world's first phonograph.
It's not what happens to you but how you handle what happens to you that can make the difference. There are some things no one can control. However, we can control how we handle difficulties, whether they are major traffic delays, unexpected rainstorms that cancel golf games or out-of-town trips, or even our disappointment when our children do things that we disapprove of. Most of those things are inevitable. Realistically, there are no smooth seas all the way across the ocean of life, so we need to respond to difficulties in positive ways. When we take this approach, we often can turn a hopeless situation or an unfortunate incident into one of the best things that happens to us. Always remember, there is always light at the end of a tunnel.
So learn to handle those disappointments, defeats and setbacks. Turn them into positives, and I'll see you at the top!
Sales Management Tip
Too many companies have wishes instead of standards. "I wish my people would make more calls," one manager told me. A standard is a measurable indicator of performance involving a consequence. If you're a manager, confront lack of sustained effort with coaching. If you're in sales, take action instead of looking for excuses. Clementine Paddleford, put it this way, "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be." - Chris Lytle Sales Management Tip
Quote of the Day
"Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it." - Arthur Ashe, Tennis Player
