Effective
Engineering
e-Newsletter
1/03/2008
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eN-080103:
A Fresh Start! Part II
By Tom
Dennis President, Effective Engineering [tdennis@effectiveeng.com]
The only thing constant in life is change. Every day things change in
your job, in your professional life, in your personal life, in living your
life. With every change comes a fresh start sometimes a very
minor change with little or no impact, and sometimes a very major change
with huge impact. Our ability to adapt to and thrive with the changes and fresh
starts in our lives is what determines our success or failures and our
happiness or despair. A positive attitude and approach often can make all
the difference.
Back in March 2006 I wrote an e-Newsletter on making a fresh start
when I left my full-time job voluntarily to pursue consulting and a startup
opportunity (see
eN-060302 A Fresh Start!). The main thrust of that article
was to make the most of your fresh start regardless of what was
behind it. Now it is time for a follow-on to that article, about yet
another fresh start.
My wife and I recently completed a move from our home of almost 19 years in
Andover MA to a smaller home in nearby Methuen MA. It was time. Our
children are grown and gone, the house was too big, the taxes and utilities
and other bills too high. Finding a new home and selling a current home is
an interesting, but trying, process. The market has changed from a few
years ago. Prices are lower than they were just one to two years ago. This
is good for buying a home, but not for selling. [Note:
Were still trying to sell our current home, so if anyone out there is
interested in a beautiful home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Andover MA, let me
know!
J].
It took a fair amount of time to find our new home, with some mini-disasters
along the way (my wife had some health problems, and the owner of a house we
thought we had bought backed out after having signed contracts). Still, the
house we finally bought is great and were starting to get settled in.
We found many surprises, opportunities, disappointments, headaches, etc.
associated with moving to a new home in a new town. The move itself can be
very trying, with arduous packing, moving, and unpacking. The new house
takes time to give up its secrets and idiosyncrasies, and some of these are
pleasant surprises and some unpleasant. There are new neighbors in a new
neighborhood to meet and get familiar with. This can be exciting and
perhaps a bit intimidating. At the same time, you are leaving old friends
and neighbors who you know you will miss. While our new home is only about
ten miles from our prior home, it was still in a new town for us, and while
we thought we had some familiarity with it, the reality was that we didnt
really know it at all. We are now trying to learn the local roads, new
shortcuts around town, new local stores and shopping centers, new town
facilities, etc. While this is a modest learning process for us, when
people move a longer distance away, the learning process can be a much
bigger shock to your system. Different towns have different characters and
cultures, and different states can have even bigger cultural differences to
get acquainted with and to adapt to.
As we moved through this process it brought to mind many parallels with
settling into a new home in the business world (e.g. moving to a
new company or to a new position in your current company). In my many years
in the business world Ive moved from very large companies, to very small
companies (and many companies in between), to a 2-person start-up, to a
1-person consulting firm. Ive been involved in product development of
products providing data over telephone lines, data over Ethernet, wireless
data, land- and satellite-based navigation, telephone headsets,
enterprise-based software, consumer-based whole-home audio/video, and more.
In every case, these changes have required fresh starts and new
learning and adapting to new environments.
Making a fresh start in your professional world has many similar
challenges, and in todays world, fresh starts have become ever
more common, with very few people staying in the same job or with the same
company for a long time. A survey I recently came across shows that these
days, on average, people have between 4 and 10 different jobs throughout
their careers. Some involve moving to a new division in a current company.
Many more involve moving to an entirely new company. Many involve moving to
a different physical location in a new state or even a new country. Many
are a continuation of your current profession, but some involve not only
starting over in a new company in a new state or country, but also in a new
professional discipline. This can be a lot to get used to and comfortable
with.
When you have a fresh start, you move from familiar to unfamiliar
territory. While each fresh start is unique, there are some
overarching themes for how they are best handled.
► You will need to get familiar with an entirely new set of people with
greatly differing personalities, areas of knowledge, levels of expertise,
capabilities, ways of doing things, etc. Be open to this and recognize that
you are really the new person and not them. Adapt to them rather than
expecting them to adapt to you (although adaptation in both directions will
clearly occur).
► You will need to learn the culture of the organization you are joining.
You will also need to learn the politics of the organization you are
joining. While you may wish to avoid issues of culture and politics in your
fresh start, you really cant; it comes with the territory and you
learn it and adapt, or you will become a fish out of water.
► You will make new friends, discover new enemies (even though you
have no desire whatsoever to make enemies with anyone), have new bosses, new
subordinates, new departments, new ways of doing things, etc. Recognize
that this is normal, even if somewhat overwhelming. Recognize also that it
will take time for you learn the lay of the land and who are friends
and who are foes. Develop and further strengthen your friendships,
and work to turn foes into friends, wherever possible.
► You will find yourself in the middle of exciting times, frustrating times,
fun times, hard times, successes, failures, etc., many of these occurring at
the same time. You should expect to find new surprises (both bad and good),
headaches, opportunities, disappointments, etc. Recognize that this all
part of your fresh start and go with the flow, even as you work to
direct that flow. Also recognize that as much of an impact these changes
have on you, they will also impact those around you, and have patience with
yourself and others. You will need it.
Your fresh start may be everything you want, or a disaster. Most
likely it will be a mix of both good and bad, with the good hopefully
outweighing the bad. In any event, it wont be dull.
What will make all the difference is your attitude. If you go into your fresh
start with a positive, can-do attitude, you will have the best
probability of success. You will do everything possible to make your fresh
start all it can be, for you and those around you. If you dwell on the
problems, you can bring down yourself and others. If you concentrate on
making all you do a success, your positive attitude can become contagious,
in a very good way. Recognize that there will be roadblocks and detours
along the way, but recognize these as opportunities to learn more and find
new ways to succeed. Lead by example, and you can grow a team that will be
all it can be. Fresh starts are great opportunities to evaluate
yourself and make adjustments to help make you the better person you really
want to be!
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Effective Engineering Consulting Services, All Rights Reserved
