…but my coach told me about a nifty equation, borrowed from business bestselling author Jack Canfield, that helped me move a few clients in a better direction this week. It’s this: E + R = O. First some background. I have two clients from the same financial services company who run different territories. One is very down at the moment. The market is obviously in the, uh, outhouse. His clients (financial advisors) are distracted and in a bad mood. It’s harder to get appointments and when he does, his clients aren’t listening because they are worried. His colleague–same job, different territory–is all smiles. He says: “I control two things: my activity and my attitude.” How wonderfully simple. So thanks to Mr. Canfield for this: “E” is Event, “R” is Response, and “O” is Outcome. The stuff that’s happening all around you–that’s E. How you react, what you do about it, how you let it affect you–that’s R. And O is the result. My client who’s not a happy camper right now has an R with a negative value. This is a great lesson for entrepreneurs or executives who want to start a business. Is this a good time to start a business (recession, gas at $3.35 a gallon, layoffs galore)? Depends on your “R”.
March 16, 2008
March 29, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Nitzche is reported to have said, “All the great ideas have already been thought of. The challenge is to think of them again.” Canfield may checked in with Albert Ellis, Ph.D. who developed RET, Rational Emotive Therapy back in the ’60’s. He had the original formula for how people develop feelings, which are based on Beliefs that we hold about Activating Events, that lead to consequent feelings. Ellis called this the ABC’s of understanding how come we feel the way we do.