Snap Them Out of It

 

Floating Ball, Flying Tee © by Collapse The Light

Momentum, or what some think of as Newton’s First Law of Motion, “Every body remains in a state of rest or uniform motion (constant velocity) unless it is acted upon by an external unbalanced force,” not only applies to “every body” in motion but also to everybody.

Success begets success – it’s that x factor that helps makes great salesmen phenomenal and bad ones lousy.

It’s also the factor that makes the downer client or co-worker the downer on all occasions.  They start their day off badly and by 10a are dragging everyone else down.

The opposite is also true, so all is not lost.  There’s always (hopefully) one person in an office that can crack a joke at the worst situation and provide the best way out of the mess.  We could all use more of them.

This isn’t only a work concept, the down-on-their-luck, frequently find themselves getting the short toothpick not because of a lack of talent or drive, but because they find themselves stuck in a downward spiral.  The only solution – snap them out of it.  The turnaround must be sharp and fast – like a glass of cold water to the face.  Gradual shaping may work but takes time and when you’re dealing with unlimited variables (which life frequently presents) it’s too easy to find them retracing their steps on that downward spiral.

Get them moving in the right direction – and get them going that way like you would rip off a bandage – quickly and in one swipe.  Reset their momentum, it may be the best thing you’ve ever done for them (and your organization).

We enjoy the classics around here – this post originally ran on October 27, 2010.  

[reus id=”6″][recent posts]