As dust settles we begin to see things clearly again. Clarity can be impaired by a wide variety of factors from a lack of light to presence of dust or fog in the air.
Success in life, business, relationships, in fact in all the roles we play, depends on clarity in all of its aspects. Clarity of purpose, clarity of approach, clarity of progress, clarity of risks, clarity of required resources and clarity of clarity.
What detracts from clarity?
At times it is the total lack of understanding prior to setting out. It could be impaired by a change in circumstances that catch you off guard. Clarity will be lost through distractions that negatively impact focus, vague communication will do it, not being present moment by moment and a lack of a means to track progress.
When I refer to various subjects for this blog, I am reminded each and every time by the importance of high levels of emotional intelligence or life skills. Success requires right effort and effectively negotiating the various challenges along the path to it. The skills required are vast and varied.
Dust storms happen in business.
Things are thrown up into the air when key people resign, major clients are lost, new systems are implemented, bases are moved, threats appear, opportunities appear and even when you have been doing the same things for a long time without changing anything but the world around you is shifting.
Caroline and I have just had dust settle. We have successfully moved ourselves back to the Riebeek Valley after living in Sea Point for three months while we turned our conference venue (ABC – a space to…..) into our new home. It has worked out brilliantly. What helped us immensely with dealing with 3 moves in 3 months was having the presence of mind to create specific time to remove the dust from our eyes and focus our attention on what needed to be done.
I feel we looked after everything well enough. Maybe not to our normal standards but well enough. The sale of one place, the renovating another, the move to Sea Point and back, the storage, the pets, the finances, the running of Ripple, traveling and facilitating, staying in touch with friends, staying healthy, taking advantage of city living, our spiritual paths, family, our garden etc. It’s a long list.
What we do know is that we created the storm and we had to negotiate our storm.
Where do you find yourself right now?
Are you in a clear patch with amazing visibility all around you, or are you battling to see things clearly which is hindering your progress?
- Dust storm – stop and put on the goggles that protect your eyes. (You don’t want your vision to become impaired).
- Fog – stop if safe to do so otherwise reduce speed, get the right lights on and make sure what you can clear is cleared (e.g. Your windscreen if driving).
- Lack of light – stop, look for the switch or the window / door that will let light in and flick the switch or open up. (In business this could be as simple as getting that new perspective from someone.)
- Doubts or uneasiness – stop and set time aside for the planning you neglected from the start.
- Lost or off track – stop and measure (take out your GPS and the map and pinpoint where you are and plot the path clearly to your desired destination.)
- Caught off guard or thrown – stop and gain the appropriate understanding before planning the best course of action.
- Fuzziness – stop and focus on clear thoughts, clear communication with all concerned and clear tracking devices.
- Wishing you were not in the storm – stop and get a grip on the reality of the situation.
The clear message – if you are in a dust storm of any nature right now, STOP.
Wandering around aimlessly will not help your cause. Do what you can to see clearly. Have a plan to move back to clarity and do whatever is necessary to protect yourself from harm.
The Ripple Effect, through its wide range of products and services, has a reputation of being effective “Dust Busters”. Stop and visit our website on www.therippleeffect.co.za to make contact.
By Louis Gerke
Development Facilitator – The Ripple Effect
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