No…it’s not what you think, I haven’t switched my focus to dating – or dumping – advice. But dumping SALY? That I do want to talk you about. In fact, I offer a course that I call “How to Dump SALY” (an acronym for “same as last year”). SALY refers to this notion that we tend to do things the same way we did last year because, in some cases, it’s just the easiest. We get in a rut of doing what we think is easier or don’t change because we somehow think we’re not supposed to.
But that’s a big problem – SALY is hurting your creativity, SALY is getting in the way of improvement and progress. But, the idea of change can overwhelm, causing us to downplay the shortcomings SALY has, like maybe, just maybe it’s something that will get better with time, or you just need to change your point of view and magically your feelings will change.
It won’t get better. Just like a failing relationship, if the signs are there and you need to justify reasons why it’s not working…it’s time to let go!
It’s Not You, It’s Me – Or Maybe It’s Both Of Us…
I promise I’m not doling out bad dating advice, but when it comes to breaking up with SALY the steps may seem reminiscent of past high school relationship drama. How about the classic, “it’s not you, it’s me” phrase? What a line! And it’s typically one we’d rather not be on the receiving end of.
People who are perhaps afraid of commitment usually deliver this line, but more than that, they are always looking forward to the next thing. On the other hand, as humans we can become lazy– it can be easy to fall into the same ol’ same ol’ just simply because it’s “easy.” But that’s not good enough.
In business, we should be using a variation of this go-to phrase. We should pull the, “It’s you…AND it’s me” routine often. Maybe there isn’t anything particularly wrong with how things are now, but they could be better and eventually what is currently “just fine” could become a liability for your business. The truth is, we need to dump SALY and find new, creative ways of doing things. SALY is an inherent risk in our profession.
It’s Time for a Change
Change is necessary, and usually the idea of it is welcomed in conversation, but actually doing it is difficult. For instance, if you have been doing things with clients or customers the same way for a long time, you face a hidden risk, and it could be explosive. It could bring down a company. If you are not thinking, asking the right questions, and coming up with creative approaches, you could shut yourself down. As Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Co-founder of Facebook, has said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk…In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
So, while SALY may be just ok, SALY isn’t good enough for you – so, go on, dump SALY.
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