On Ignoring Naysayers

Hello Enlightened Managers.   I hope this post finds you well and enjoying your week.  I'm having a good week, but also a long one.  Too many twelve hour days stacked up like towels in a too-small linen closet.  But better busy than not, and better a full life than an empty one.

Because I'm eager to get away from my computer and plop down on the bean bag with my hubby in front of the TV, this will be a short post.  But an important one I think.

Do you have nay-sayers in your life?  People who are lovable and good but tend to think your ideas are a bit off the mark?  I do.  Some of my friends just "don't get" what I do, and so when I show them something I'm working on (like a new training tool) they tend to smile politely and make one of those annoying comments.

"I suppose some people might find that useful."
"I never have that problem myself.
"Good luck with that - it's not really my thing."
"I already do that all the time."

In the past, I tended to take these kind of comments too much to heart.  I'd come up with a fun and funky idea on how to do something, and then one expression of indifference would just burst my bubble.  Not so much anymore.

As an example, I recently had the idea to send a small can of playdoh to some of my "prospects" (business speak for people who I'd like to work with) to remind them that employee development can be fun as well as profitable.  I included a nice letter to go along with the toy.

I told a friend about this, and he told me through body language and tone of voice that he thought this was a pretty silly idea.  He was polite, he didn't mean any harm, but he also showed pretty clearly that he thought I was being a dork.

I went ahead anyway.  It was a success.  People have emailed and called me to say how much they appreciate the Playdoh and that they would like to talk about some development work this year.

The magic wasn't in the Playdoh.  It was in the fact that I didn't let naysayers dampen my enthusiasm. 

My advice to you this week, is to try and do the same.  Feedback is good, but there are also times when you just need to follow your bliss.  Shake off the negativity people throw your way, and just keep on dancing towards success.

OK, time to go get flat for a while.   Until the alarm goes off and we start all over again!

(By the way, Playdoh is a registered trademark.)