Transformation :: Finding the “Sweet Spot”
Barack Obama is quoted saying, “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” As I’ve observed him over the past couple years, I’ve been impressed by his walk, his progress. He’s remained steady and calm no matter what challenges have presented themselves. Not only has Barack matured during his campaign to exude even greater poise and diplomacy, but he’s proven himself to be unflappable under fire by his opponents. Obama’s found his “sweet spot”. I think Colin Powell’s well-balanced perception of Obama, given during his interview with Meet the Press, stated eloquently what people all over the world are observing about Barack’s walk, his talk and his confidence in running mate for VP, Joe Biden:
“…he (Obama) displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge, and an approach to looking at problems like this, picking a Vice President that I think is ready to be President on Day One. And also in – not just in jumping in and changing every day – but showing intellectual vigor, I think that he has a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well.”
Powell concludes that segment of his interview by saying:
“I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the … onto the world stage and on the American stage….”
With Barack Obama now elected as the President of the United States of America, with a new administration readying to take over January 20, 2009, change is coming to every sector of our personal and professional lives. Change the majority of Americans agree has been a long time in coming.
What this will ultimately mean for our economy and employment opportunities, time will only tell. I don’t believe we will be frustrated by a hurry-up-and-wait scenario, the talk without the walk, as some fear might happen. When Barack Obama says that our economy is the number one priority of his new administration, I expect to see a rebirth of environmental policies early on to make way for viable renewable energy solutions, which will set the stage for exciting green job opportunities, ecopreneurism and innovations.
We can choose to believe that our country is now heading down the right path and will make steady progress. However, the onus falls to each of us to take stock of where we’ve been, where we are and where we want to be in the future. Our individual decisions and actions are inextricably woven into the change that is coming to America. Our progress depends on putting our talk into action. Right now is a good time to start working on resolutions and an action plan for 2009, just like Obama is doing in anticipation of taking office this coming January. For you and me, we don’t have to wait until next year to implement an action plan of our own.
Where to start? Try using my training model when mapping out your future. When developing training curriculum, I avoid overwhelming the trainee by:
- breaking down the material into specific modules,
- which are then divided into smaller, manageable blocks of information and tasks that give him/her a sense of immediate accomplishment and success.
- Think about the areas you want to transform, to change, in your personal life or profession, keeping the review of your desired outcomes simple.
- Make a bulleted list, then drill down to identify subsets and prioritize them.
- Make a time line for accomplishing realistic goals, both short-term and long-term.
- If you want to include others in the process, use tools like Google Notebook, Docs and Calendar.
More importantly, the transformation process should be a lively expression of optimism for a better future that leads to finding the “sweet spot” in life, the “sweet spot” in your career, the place where your “gifts, passions and purpose intersect”… For inspiration, read Finding the Sweet Spot by Dave Pollard.
Let the process start by giving yourself permission to brainstorm, explore your options, to play and create. As a wise friend once told me, it’s like painting a wall, if you don’t like the color, paint over it. It’s just paint. Sweet!
Cris Bisch, OSG
