Keeping Healthy Relationships

The stats are grim; more than half of our relationships don’t work out. Is it because the reason we started them isn’t solid? Could it be because they don’t meet our expectations or we fail to meet those of others? Yes. Maybe. No. Who knows.

We change constantly over our lifetime. Our goals shift and our desires alter. My theory on relationships – at work or at home, with lovers and friends – is it requires two willing participants to keep it going and remain healthy. We all mess up but with kindness, openness, and trust, we can get through a lot together.

Silos and Departments

You can see it when team members disengage. It is at that intersection where the work is required to repair and save a relationship. Resentment and scorecards can damage companies and personal relationships faster than losing a big contract or letting a customer down.

It’s the work we do in our relationships that creates great stuff. When the proverbial chips are down is when we find out what we’re made of and how strong we are together. It’s easy to get along when the sun is shining. We grow most during stormy weather. It's been said a thousand ways but experiences make us better. And those experiences aren't always rosy and fun.

Being Right. Being Kind.

Humility is tough to hold on to when we’re upset or stressed. When we hurt those closest to us, it hurts us too. I’m no Pollyanna but we need to do all we can to repair our mistakes and save the connection with a wonderful person in our lives, or gather our teams to solve a business issue.

The release we may get from storming out of the room or throwing our phone over a silly argument will subside before we get to our car. Getting quiet and figuring out why a relationship is in our lives is the key to resolving most – if not all – of our conflicts.

Our most valuable resources are our time and each other.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!

Never a Good Time

There’s never a good time to spill your dinner on your nice shirt. There’s never a good time to start that business. There’s never a good time to have another child. There’s never a good time to move. There's never a good time to act on that idea. There’s never a good time to make any decision in our lives.

We can use that as an excuse, a reason not to move forward, or face things head on. I can’t speak for you, but there are countless times in my life I haven’t had the bravery to make the call. And whatever happened was what I safely accepted as what was supposed to happen.

I was reviewing a post I wrote here on January 1st of this year. It was a simple list. It was a brave list. It was easy to write it because it was just a list. Ten months in, I wonder if the list meant anything.

• Complain less. Do more.
• Worry less. Inspire more.
• Look back less. Self-trust more.
• Compare less. Share more.
• Doubt less. Create more.
• Stop less. Listen more.
• Discuss going for it less.
• Actually go for it more.

There's never a good time to stop participating in our own lives.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

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It's a New Year - Now What?

To millions, Christmas and New Year's are the most depressing and stressful events of the year. We have created expectations that far exceed what we may be able to replicate in reality and it can be tough.

The old adage that you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family rings true for too many and that includes the workplace. My Holidays were filled with time spent in person, on phone and online to catch up with some of my favourite people. I hope you did the same. Not just at this time of year!

Later is Now

Most are back to work today looking at a list made in the haze of too much champagne that has now been added to the growing catalogue of items left to get to after the Holidays. If you're one of them, now is the time to decipher whether you made the to-do list to really do now or simply procrastinate in December.

Lists are simple to make. I have made more than my share over the years. They are filled with promise and possibilities written in a brave moment of clarity meant to push me through to completion only to fall short because the action was far more involved than writing about it. Let's try less and actually do more.

Ready?

Kneale Mann

image credit: animationideas