And Then, It Got Weird

Sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops, near a college campus, enjoying the best bagel on the planet (Cinnamon Crunch from Panera) I overheard a statement from a young college student.

While having a conversation with their companion, one of the students stated; "And then it got weird." I am not really sure exactly what that meant, (and I was grateful for that) because that is when they started whispering.

And then, it got weird.

We have processes in business that are developed and engineered with a desirable result expected. When we follow the steps and endeavor to own the process, our outcomes will become more predictable and overtime, more beneficial. Step after logical and planned step we continually should be moving toward the objective. The singular objective achieved is going to be one of many, making the entire process more effective and efficient.

The process is just that, a process. A set of actions required, (REQUIRED) that when followed and preformed should open a door to the next objective.

But what happens when it gets weird?

How we grow in our flexibility and resilience will determine how much we grow. People are different  and while you may be providing a solution to a common problem, people are not common and any attempt to treat them as such will invariably throw you off course.

If it gets weird and you react weirdly, it is going to get weirder.

When you are thrown off course because it got weird, the immediate objective becomes to get back on course. Get back on course by getting to the root of the matter by asking questions and listening to answers. View every individual, as they deserved to be viewed, individually. Their problems that you can solve may be familiar to you but they may be foreign to your customer. Any attempt to move to the next objective when confusion is resident is destined to fail. Make clear that the objective is clear.

You must be patient and resolute. Demonstrate patience by empathizing and show resoluteness when you are making your clear and scientific recommendations, including the next action-objective.

Expect it to get weird and when it does, adjust.