Post by M.J. Ryan, contributing Women On Business writer
Tom Heuerman is an organizational consultant who recently wrote about the qualities of sustainable organizations: they “continually adapt to the external environment…. [and] have a core identity of purpose (why they exist) and values (guiding principles) that provide stability and continuity as all else changes over time.”
What struck me is how much what applies to organizations also applies to individuals. As businesswomen, our work life springs from the same unchanging bedrock.
Perhaps bedrock is not the only apt metaphor. Biologists know that one of the qualities of a living system is that it is able to respond and adapt to change without losing its basic integrity. Take a cell for instance. It has a semi-permeable membrane that allows things to flow in and out, while maintaining its “cellness.”
So it is with you. There is a “youness” that is unchanged, a core that will remain no matter how much and how well you adapt to the changing business world. It’s why wherever you go, there you are, as Jon Kabat-Zinn famously said.
As I write in my book AdaptAbility
Take me, for instance. When I knew I had to leave publishing, one of my authors, Dawna Markova, invited me to join her consulting company. I had to learn lots of new skills, like leading groups. What I brought with me that was unchanging was my love of reading, writing, talking, and thinking, my combination of analysis and ability to foster the growth of other people, as well as my belief in the ability of people to change, and my tendency to do my best in an environment that offers both time alone and with others. These were the raw materials that I had offered as an editor and publisher of a self help publishing company. Now I was simply aiming them in a new direction.
During times of change, getting more in touch with the LIVE elements of your “youness” is crucial because it contains the raw materials you bring to any and all circumstances. Dawna often talks about her grandmother. One time, when life was asking a big change of me and I was despairing of my ability to cope with it, she told me the following story: Her grandmother was a Jew living in a Russian village. Throughout the centuries, every so often, the Cossacks would blow through and destroy all the houses of Jews in the village. All you could do, grandma said, was to hide until they left, then pick through the rubble searching for the whole bricks and build again. Our loves, talents, values, and preferred environments are those whole bricks from which we re-build.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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