HOW TO: Reset

Everyone has setbacks but not everyone knows how to recover. Some things to consider.

RESETTING

Some of the best outcomes, inventions and strategies in life are a result of having to reset. Throughout my career, the need to reset has been persistently present – whether it was a layoff at the height of the recession or life challenges. I believe the importance of resetting holds true in almost every aspect of life and have personally developed three key ideologies which I use in order to be successful.

Refine your focus.  Change is inevitable. Often, we start out on a specific path. We have a vision and we are committed to that vision. Then, situations beyond our control come along and change our entire course.   A personal example in my career is when there is a change in leadership. I’ve stood on both sides of this change, receiving a new leader and becoming a new leader. With any leadership changes, there will be organizational changes that cannot be avoided. The best way to embrace those changes and remain in control is to refine your focus. This can be done by keeping an open mind and being solution-driven. Doing so, will lead to an easier transition and guarantee success.

Earn Trust.  In business, one of the key derivatives of being able to refine your focus is to earn trust from key stakeholders. When people can trust and depend on you, barriers are removed. Trust is earned through honesty, reliability, openness and integrity. Trust is an integral part of resetting.

Get results.  Now that the focus has been refined, and the trust is earned, one must get results. What that looks like for me are the “wins” after the reset. They don’t always to have to be huge wins. Often times, the quick small wins will pay larger dividends and be the biggest catalyst for sustained positive momentum after a setback.

Kenneth Gray | Vice President of Finance, Strategic Pricing & Profitability, US Bank – Elavon

HOW DO YOU RESET?

Perspective is everything. Knowing what you want is also very important. But, a critical realization for me was that success is not a single accomplishment or an ultimate destination, but a somewhat unpredictable, winding and unending journey. Among the many things that fuel progress and steepen one’s trajectory are the lessons, if paying attention, that are in each experience. Furthermore, I’ve found that the biggest lessons are nearly always in the most difficult, disappointing and consequential experiences. As though it is in the DNA of success, setbacks are a part of the story. So, as I move toward my goals and encounter difficulty, I maintain that perspective and understanding. Setbacks are inevitable as are the lessons that most certainly exist in each of them. Remaining consciously aware that each hardship is part of your process and not a permanent state makes resetting feel less like suffering a loss or failure. Instead, resetting is more so an opportunity to remember the bigger picture, take inventory of any missteps and reflect on the underlying lessons in the experience. Next, take a breath, appreciate that you have been made a bit stronger and a bit wiser having gone through the experience … then move forward.

Randy Hazelton | CEO and founding partner of H&H Hospitality