Effective Change Book

Fight The Wrong Battles

By Brandon W. Jones on February 24, 2014 0

When change comes around, there are many people that do all they can to fight it. They decide that all change is bad and if they make the next change, their life will be more difficult. These people fight change so much that they get worn down, their stress level increases, and life becomes much more difficult. Additionally, people get tired of being around the change fighter because they know that any change they think of will be hard to implement.

When you fight the wrong battles you will experience fatigue and you could run into the following three challenges:

Loss of Emotional Energy

Everything you do either adds to your emotional reservoir or takes away from it. When you fight a winning battle, your confidence grows and you begin to feel energized. On the other hand, when you fight the wrong battles, you lose emotional energy. If you are consistently fighting the wrong battles, you will drain your reservoir more than you refill it. With time it will get depleted. [Read more…] about Fight The Wrong Battles

Overcoming Fears in the Business World

By Brandon W. Jones on February 21, 2014 0

In the business world, there are many challenges that we face on a regular basis. One of the biggest difficulties is overcoming fears. They present themselves in many forms all the time. In the video below, I explain how overcoming fears can be made easy.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to success in the business world is fear. Most people face fear in one form or another all the time. Sometimes it is the fear of losing your current job, not getting the next promotion, speaking in front of others, or something else altogether. Fear is the opposite of faith and can be difficult to overcome.

So how can you overcome your fear? How you face your fears determines whether or not you are successful. Fear can be a strong positive motivator when used properly, however, it can also lead to your destruction. You can overcome you fears and be successful by doing the following three things:

Know Your Self-Worth

When you realize your own self-worth, the sky becomes the limit to what you can do. Marianne Williamson made a powerful statement about self-worth. She said:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles,” 1992

As the quote points out, each individual has great self-worth. When you know and understand your own self-worth, your self-confidence grows. [Read more…] about Overcoming Fears in the Business World

Be Evasive When Change Comes

By Brandon W. Jones on February 5, 2014 0

Have you ever wanted to hide under a rock when you knew a change was coming? Or have you ever avoided people that were driving change because you didn’t want the change to happen? Or, have you ever participated in a conversation where you intentionally didn’t bring up a subject because you knew it would lead to talk of change? If you have ever done any of these things, you have tried to be evasive to change. If you try to be evasive when change comes you are prolonging the inevitable.

Who tries to be evasive to change?

Almost everyone has been or will try to be evasive to change. Whether you are a leader, a follower, or someone in between, you have probably tried to be evasive to change even if you try to do all you can to accept change and embrace it.

Change happens whether you like it or not. It is very easy, however, to be evasive to change. When you are evasive to change, you probably think that it will prolong the change. In actuality, however, it just makes the change more difficult. When you are evasive you are in denial over the change. [Read more…] about Be Evasive When Change Comes

Why You Should Not Fear The Future

By Brandon W. Jones on February 3, 2014 1

After going through the recent economic downturns, many people are very leery about any form of change. They shutter just hearing the word change. They associate change with terms like layoffs, forced retirements, restructuring, pay-cuts, etc. Many people’s first response is to fear the future.

When you hear “change” and begin fearing the future, it can cause a number of negative results in your life. Some of those negative results are increased stress, limited patience, and increased anxiety.

Increased Stress

To fear the future at the mention of change is not an uncommon reaction, but it is a misunderstanding of change. When we fear the future, it immediately causes increased stress. That stress comes from trying to control the uncontrollable. It is very common to automatically expect the worse case scenario for each action. You may think if there is going to be change at work, it means your company is going under, or you’re going to lose your job, but in reality you’re just getting a new boss. The worst sometimes does happen, but stressing over it is not a good thing to do because it doesn’t change the outcome. [Read more…] about Why You Should Not Fear The Future

Become The Victim Of Change

By Brandon W. Jones on January 31, 2014 0

It is not uncommon when change is being implemented for people to “become the victim of change.” When something new is implemented or another form of change happens, people will say that they are the victims of change. They will say that the change was forced upon them and they had no control over it.

What is the victim of change mentality?

The victim of change mentality happens when people give control of their life over to others. When people take on the “victim of change” mentality, they fight or have a defeatist attitude towards change. They feel like whatever happens is out of their control. As the victim, they claim that they have no control over their life or what happens to them.

You may hear people say things like, “What does it matter, I have no control over it anyway.” They may say, “Management, leadership, government, etc. just forces it upon us and they don’t even care what we think” Another common statement is, “Why do you want my opinion when you won’t listen to it or do anything about it anyway?” Each of these statements can be taken as an indication that the person believes he/she is the victim of change.

Why is this mentality bad?

When I think about the victim of change mentality, I also think about empowerment. When you are empowered, you believe that you can do anything you set your mind to. When you become the victim of change, however, your mindset changes to one of dependency on others. [Read more…] about Become The Victim Of Change

Change At Your Own Pace

By Brandon W. Jones on January 29, 2014 0

Have you ever tried to implement a change when one person that wasn’t ready for the change? He/she probably told each team member to, “change at your own pace” which challenged your team members. As a result, that person probably slowed everything and everyone down. He/she probably was a roadblock to the change for the group or you individually. What they may not have realized was that their mentality became a major stumbling block for everyone.

So why is change at your own pace a fallacy?

To know why this is a fallacy you don’t need to look any further than the three drivers of change (technology, people, and information). Technology is constantly advancing. Computers, machinery, vehicles, phones, and everything else technology is constantly improving. With each technological advance, you can improve efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness. Or, you can stay where you are. If you choose to stay where you are, you will be effectively moving backwards because everyone else will be moving past you.

The change at your own pace doesn’t work with people either. When you change at your own pace with people, you will either move too fast or too slow. You will slow down others around you or you will encounter resistance when you are changing faster than others. You can’t change at your own pace when you are changing with others. This hurts the team and everyone involved in the process. [Read more…] about Change At Your Own Pace