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an industry consultant whom I respected. I told him of the importance to me of being a good parent first and shared my thoughts of working less than full time, as well as my plans to continue to grow my business successfully to the next level. He told me, “You will not be able to continue the positive upward trend you have experienced working less than full time. You need to commit to working 40 hours plus per week – or more like 50 to 60 hours – to accomplish your goals.”
My best decision was to not listen to that consultant’s advice. Instead, I became even more committed to my part-time work week. In fact, I decided to schedule myself completely out of the office one day of the week. In the next two years, my business grew more than 130 percent. More importantly, because of the decision to work part time, my children grew up with a mom who didn’t miss the important events in their lives, took the time to volunteer for their school activities, and provided an example of what it can mean to be successful at work and at home.
Choose Your Mindset
My optimism and tenacity were not just challenged in my personal life but in business too. One of the most challenging times for our business was when the Great Recession hit. Overnight, our world changed drastically. I observed several clients struggle financially, and one client partner of over 13 years was shut down by the FDIC. There was a spirit of fear around us. Many of my staff had spouses or family members who had lost jobs or businesses, and our own project division dropped 30% overnight. It was a scary time to be a business owner. I have to admit there were some sleepless nights worrying about providing for all of the families who called MSNW home. I remember one moment when it seemed things were crashing down around us, and I too, allowed myself to become paralyzed by fear. One of my managers pulled me aside and said to me, “Janelle, you are always the one that puts the wind in our sails, but you can also take it out.”
That was a wake-up call for me. I made the fundamental decision that day to do whatever it took to thrive in the down economy, to learn whatever lessons we could as a company and use them to prepare for a great future.
This type of mindset is a choice. It’s a choice that takes work and means not looking at problems as insurmountable, but rather as opportunities. Dr. Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, calls this approach a “growth mindset” versus “a fixed mindset.” A fixed mindset is where one identifies themselves as someone who cannot change; one who feels labeled by their failures; and gets quickly discouraged when things become hard. On the other hand, a growth mindset is one, as I have described, where every difficulty provides an opportunity to learn and take yourself forward.3 Dweck says, “You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They’re powerful beliefs, but they’re just something in your mind, and you can change your mind.” 4
It’s a choice that takes work and means not looking at problems as insurmountable, but rather as opportunities.
By choosing this growth mindset, you seek to constantly find a way to move forward towards positive solutions. Sometimes it’s not easy. There were days I felt deflated and wondered how I would go into the office and face our team when I knew the challenges ahead. Again, what I had to do was make the choice to not allow myself to wallow in self-pity and to instead move forward in confidence. Trusting my business, employees and clients was also a choice. All of these small choices, made day after day, slowly brought us through the worst of it.
Once I had stopped listening to outside forces and committed to the positive continued success of my business, I began to act in a way that supported the choices that I had made. This impacted the entire team, encouraging them to make their own choices about attitude and commitment. We even talked about how we put on our company uniform in a different way. Similar to a team member working at Disneyland who puts on the princess costume and becomes a princess, we can leave our situations behind when we come to work as soon as we put on our costume. No matter what challenge was being faced at home; I encouraged them to believe that when they came into work and put on the MSNW logo shirt, they became MSNW. That shirt means you’re positive, you’re passionate, and you’re going to have a really great day. It was actually a very helpful reminder that way – both simple, yet tangible.
Every reaction, interaction and conversation is a choice for the future.
This example is poignant to me as it was a stark reminder that we live life based on our own design. From then on it was clear that every reaction, interaction and conversation was a choice for the future. At the time we were in an office space that we had significantly outgrown. Our human resources manager didn’t even have an office door. While everyone was saying, “hunker down,” “wait for everything to blow over,” “hold on to your money,” I purchased a new office for our company that was twice the size of the one we were in. This bold move helped to position us for further growth. Because of that decision we were able to take on a regional contract the following year which led to our strongest year in company history.
No matter what circumstances you face, it is always your choice to respond in a way that will lead you forward.
Challenge Questions
PLAYING TO WIN
Reflect on circumstances in your own life and your typical response, and answer the following questions:
1 Is your tendency to “play not to lose” or do you typically “play to win?”
2 Is there an area in your life right now where you need to step out of your comfort zone and do something differently? What action could you take?
Listen to Your Own Voice. We are ultimately responsible for our own choices. We often allow others significant power over our decisions. While it is important to seek the counsel of those we trust, consider whether you are allowing the influence of others to impact the way you are living your life more than you should.
Challenge Exercise
CHOOSE YOUR MINDSET
Do you consider yourself an optimistic person by nature, or do you tend to have a pessimistic outlook?
Reflect back on a circumstance that occurred or news that was provided to you within the last year that was not your desired outcome, and answer the following questions:
1 Describe the situation and your initial response. Was your reaction to the situation positive or negative?
2 How did your behavior in the situation impact others? In other words, did your actions elicit a positive or negative response in those around you?
3 If your reaction and response was not one with a positive mindset, how would you choose to respond differently next time?
Chapter 3
Living on Automatic
“Automatic living may take us to a place we never would have chosen to go.”
My husband Graham and I enjoy kayaking together on the ocean near our home in Birch Bay. There is nothing more beautiful than being out on the water on a warm summer evening as the sunlight shimmers on the ocean while making its descent. On most days you can watch the sun go down all the way until it appears to hit the water and disappear under the waves, sending colorful pink and purple tones across the sky. I have to admit my typical preference is to spend a lot more time gazing then paddling so it becomes more of a sunset experience than exercise, but that is just fine with me. It is easy to get mesmerized by the beauty of the ocean and forget to watch the tides. On more than one occasion when I stopped paying attention to where I was going, the pulling tides have grabbed the kayak and started carrying me out to sea. I would end up being much further off shore than I ever planned to be.
Our lives can be compared to this kayak experience. It is so common to get caught up in the busyness of life – running a company, raising a family, making time for friends, being involved in your community, and all of the demands this puts on us, that we stop really paying attention to where we’re going. Sometimes it happens quickly, but more often gradually, and we wake up one day in a place we never intended to be. We didn’t mean