Oneupweb : Tackling Hurdles and Saving Face

We’ve all had something like this happen to us at one time in our lives: you’re running a few minutes late for work and then there is an accident up ahead, and suddenly you’re really late. If you live in a state with the two seasons, “winter” and “construction”, it’s more than likely that 30 cars will be backed up waiting to pass a parking cone on the expressway, but I digress. Either way, you didn’t see this coming. Life blind-sides you sometimes.

Oftentimes the aforementioned bad ways this can happen tend to stick out in our brains, but sometimes good things can stumble upon us too. For instance, if you stop by the gas station for a pack of gum and on a whim happen to buy a winning lottery ticket, or meet the love of your life. You can have plans, deadlines and goals, then *WHAM*, the ultimate game-changer comes into play. We’ve all had those moments where we wish the world would swallow us whole; sent that text or email you can’t unsend, said that thing you regretted instantly. It’s been said that it isn’t the great moments that define us, but rather how we react and cope with them. However, from getting handed the opportunity of a lifetime to traveling the globe to losing your house in a flash flood, you can never be fully prepared for how things will change moving forward, and the best you can do is handle them with dignity and grace.

Business is no different. A client that has been with you for decades can decide to “go a different route,” or that big presentation you need to seal the deal might get eaten by your laptop as you sit on the tarmac on your way to speak. One of the best lessons you can learn for business and for life is how to roll with the punches and recover.

Some things I’ve noticed in the people I have come to respect in the business world are:

• Own your mistakes. Don’t expect others to fall on the sword for you and point fingers; it’s counter-productive to fixing the problem and you really can learn from it in the long run. It doesn’t matter whose fault it was. Raise your hand, say “it was me” and find a way to fix it. Mistakes make you human, owning them makes you a good human.
• Respect the people you work for and who work for and with you and listen to the opinions of everyone above and below you. There is a reason that person above you is the CEO, Director or Supervisor; they got there through hard-work and experience. You can learn from them even if they are the occasional bad egg (learn what NOT to do from them). And if they are a fresh-faced intern, listen to them too, they may not understand yet why it “won’t work”, but they may have a new idea and perspective you’ve never thought of.
• Six degrees of Kevin Bacon isn’t just a game. Everyone knows someone who knows someone you know. Own your personal brand. Yes you! You are John or Jane Doe, and you work for XYZ Inc., both of those define your brand, so even if you aren’t an incredibly altruistic person by default, consider how others view you.
• Be someone others want to work with. Throw yourself into what you do and that passion will rub off. If you can end every day with the knowledge you accomplished something that is a good feeling. Be it knocking that winning proposal out of the park, getting the word out about your brand, or serving your customer or client; feel proud about the things you do, even the little things, and appreciate those around you who do the same.

These four things are integral to being the kind of person others want to work with, someone who can tackle the world. I apologize here for the shameless plug, or maybe not, but if you give Oneupweb a call, I guarantee you will be working with some of the industry’s leading digital rock-stars and you won’t have to tackle your company’s issues alone. And if you want even more insight into how to grow your business, move forward and “be relentless,” then pencil us in on May 4th and see what all the talk is about.