“Simple lessons. Big impact.
From our members, for our members.”
For this month's issue of Paperclips, we're continuing our Words of Wisdom feature, where members share the best advice they've received in their careers. The response has been fantastic, and the chain of insights keeps growing!
This month, we received three contributions that all seem to revolve around a similar theme. Take a moment to read what our members have to say—you might find a tip or perspective that resonates with you.
From John Adams: Don’t get too high when things are going well and don’t get too low when they are not.
John uses his experience coaching basketball to help maintain a healthy approach all of the time
The best advice I received was when I was a graduate assistant basketball coach at Iowa State working under Tim Floyd.
He would always tell us to "not to get too high when things are going well, and not to get too low during tough times", as well as "you're never as good as people tell you that you are when you are winning, and you're never as bad as people tell you that you are when you are losing."
I always take that advice to keep pushing forward when things are going well and not to stay complacent, as one of my favorite quotes is "good is the enemy of great". I also take that advice when things are not going well, when sales are maybe down and it seems like you can't sell water to a farmer during a draught.
Things will turn around, you just have to keep pushing through those hard times, don't get too down on yourself or your staff if you are a leader, and take those losses as learning opportunities and challenges.
From Tyla Wojahn: When you mess up, do the right thing.
Tyla believes in owning your mistakes and how making excuses is not an option and only makes the situation worse.
Everyone makes mistakes. Maybe you charge a customer the wrong price for an ad, you send an email with incorrect information or you forget something important. The mistake isn't the problem, but what you do next could be.
Owning a mistake is the right thing to do. It means saying, "That was me," without adding, "but it wasn't my fault." Then learning from it, apologizing if necessary and moving forward. Hiding or covering up a mistake usually just makes it worse. It may turn a customer against you, stop them from paying their bill or telling others what you've done. The only thing worse than making a mistake is pretending you didn't.
From Dez Whalen: Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems.
Dez uses this mantra to navigate the ebb and flow of her job and keep life in perspective.