Doug DavidoffA good friend of mine is a cardiologist. One of my favorites stories that he shares with me is how young doctors respond to emergencies. They run to an emergency; and as my friend says, 'You should walk briskly, but you should never run."
When you run you allow you reptilian brain to take control. Your adrenaline pumps, and your heart beat races. When dealing with an emergency, control and calm are critical.
The same is true when dealing with business crisis. When sh stuff happens, our reptilian brain starts firing. We see danger everywhere we look. Minor issues, become insurmountable obstacles. Suddenly we try to do everything - AT THE SAME TIME!!
When you operate from this position, you're going to make mistakes and the likelihood is that you'll just dig a deeper hole.
It's important to remember two rules:
- You were never as good as you thought you were when things were going well, and you're never as bad as you feel when things are going poorly.
- Without confidence you can't do anything.
So slow down, take a breath, and follow these three rules:
- Practice what my long-term coach and friend Dan Sullivan teaches. Do a positive focus. List all of the things that are going right. Then every day, at least until you are through crisis, start the day with a positive focus by listing at least 5 things that are going right.
- Pick the most important issue and put your full attention on that.
- Limit your priorities to no more than 5 items a day.
- Breath, and remember, this too shall pass.