Weekly Nugget: How To Deal With Disasters At Work - 3 Dead Simple Steps

Dear Friend,

Firstly, I am sorry I am one day late in getting this nugget to you, as I promised to do so each Tuesday. Breakdowns are bound to happen.

Speaking of which... Whether it's a key employee leaving, an investor rolling back on funding, the emergence of AI threatening your business, or you losing your job, if there is one thing you can count on at work, it’s that breakdowns are inevitable.

But what is a breakdown? A breakdown is simply a satisfaction promised or expected but not delivered. It is bound to happen.

However, many of us are caught off guard every time a breakdown occurs and often don't know what to do in the heat of the moment. Sometimes we even freak out and make the whole thing worse.

This incapacity to deal with breakdowns leads to huge wastes at work. So, let's get right to it.

Here are 3 dead simple but extraordinarily effective steps to deal with breakdowns when they happen:

Step 1: Declare that there is a breakdown. Don’t avoid it.

Step 2: Open conversations with others about new possibilities

Step 3: Mobilize effective action for dealing with the breakdown

Seems straightforward, right? Let me elaborate.

First and foremost, you must declare the breakdown. Complaining, blaming, and cursing won't get you far, but the simple yet powerful act of declaration allows you to admit that you have a problem, and that you may not know how to deal with it right away.

By declaring a breakdown you take responsibility for your dissatisfaction with the situation and instead of just whining & windbaging you can now do something about it. Declaration opens the space for new possibilities of action.

Second, after declaring the breakdown, you may be tempted to take action right away, but first, you must consider the various possibilities in conversations for diagnosis, solutions, and action. If you skip this step and go straight to action, you run the risk of becoming hyperactive. Hyperactivity can kill all dreams, ambitions, projects, and possibilities.

Engage in conversations for possibilities with trusted allies, mentors, friends, coworkers, employees, and bosses, and explore what’s going on. You may learn something new and unexpected about the breakdown and what's possible. Enroll people into a new future with these moves.

And third, to avoid becoming only a dreamer of possibilities — that is someone with great ideas who never goes anywhere  — engage in conversations for action. Make assessments about who can help you, make requests and offers, and negotiate with people out of care of your concerns. From there, commit to taking action and ask others to commit, deliver it, and satisfy yourself and those you serve.

Loop through these three steps several times to achieve full satisfaction and realize a new possibility in the face of a breakdown.

And just like that, you will go from a breakdown to a breakthrough.

However, a breakthrough is only possible if you own the breakdown. So, if you are unhappy at work, with your career, or with your business, own your dissatisfaction in the situation, follow these three dead simple steps, and let me know how it goes!

With care,
Saqib