What do the following have in common?

• A hippo in mud
• An oil tanker
• A tortoise

Answer?

They are all slow moving and take ages to turnaround!  Or put it another way they can’t deal with change very well.

So, if the hippo in mud can’t move or change quickly it’s going to get hunted by predators.

If the oil tanker can’t move direction or change quickly then it’s going to hit something or get stuck on rocks.

If a tortoise can’t move direction or change quickly then it’s going to end up in danger.

Putting the above situations into context regarding business; how would you react in the following situations?

• When things go wrong – a customer is unhappy, a system has stopped working.  Are you able to see what needs resolving and take action or do you freeze and wait for others to step in and help?
• When change is happening around you, or if you know things need to change then how well do you deal with this?  Are you able to react in the correct manner, accept change, and identify how the decisions can impact on the long term?
• When a project is spiralling out of control – do you have the ability to step back, realise what is happening and make the suitable adjustments to get back on track?

If you can’t then don’t despair.   Perhaps you don’t have the knowledge, skills or behavioural traits required to react effectively or it’s not your role to respond.

Either way you can make changes to yourself in order to improve your performance in these situations, or ensure you aren’t in roles that require this thought process.

Not everyone can be the speed boat jetting off to safe waters but remember that no one needs to be the oil tanker crashing into rocks.