Retaliation and… Planning and…

Retaliation and Making the peace

The temptation to retaliate against that competitor who trashed your equipment when he took that customer for you last week is tempting when the tables turn. He “removed” your dispenser in so roughshod a way to render it pretty unless. And to boot he vindictively cut up all your wires in nice twelve inch long pieces!

But now you’ve taken his account and the tables have turned. Understandably your inclination is to either throw his equipment in the dumpster – or disable it into as many pieces as possible and then carefully put it in a box for him to pick up.

Admittedly either of those actions might be justified and would temporality relieve some of your justified anger. But maybe it’s time to call the truce and be the better person. Continuing the battle probably won’t be good for either of you and unnecessarily wastes valuable equipment that would otherwise help you both in the future.

So maybe now’s the time to call and invite him to meet you for coffee at a neutral site where you can return his equipment in the best condition possible. And then have that adult conversation about treating one another better the next time. It might not feel like what you’d prefer in the moment. But a week from now you’ll know you did the right thing.

Next up: Losing with class.

Planning and… the not planned

Sometimes it can seem that our job has become one of responding or reacting versus one that’s orderly, planned and scheduled. To that we probably need to say, “So what’s new?”.

Truth is life in general and work in particular largely consists of dealing with the unplanned and unexpected versus the thing we set out to do.

Those interruptions to our plans are kind of inevitable – whether it’s the leaking outdoor faucet that we have to address before we can water the flowers, or the empty gas tank that has to be filled before we can head to the place that we really need to at be in ten minutes. So maybe we need to accept them as largely unavoidable and try to skip the unnecessary angst they bring.

Yep, while planning is essential, when it comes to dealing with the unexpected, flexibility and acceptance are probably right up there as the second most important attribute contributing to the maintenance of our happiness. So today when that emergency call comes in from the furthest reach of your coverage area, take a deep breath and remember this too shall pass.

Next up: Alligators and accomplishments