For me, 110 Philosophy™ is all about turning lemons into lemonade. Turning my own childhood sexual abuse into a fundamental building block that has helped me navigate tough decisions that impact my marriage, family and career. The 110 Philosophy™ helps individuals - professionals, business leaders and small business owners who might be looking for direction - by providing the recipe for making lemonade out of the lemons that life throws at us.
We all have now experienced a HUGE lemon at the same time. Thanks to COVID, we all have been impacted by a truly life-altering event. My blog posts are intended to help businesses by helping leaders of teams and leaders of individuals, with the end goal being to ultimately help the individual. As I reflect on what to write about this month and reflect on my business’ present status. I begin to feel the elements of euphoria for being able to confidently navigate and transition during the recent past events… the life-altering events that require transition which leads to transformation.
The Webster definition of transformation: A thorough or dramatic change in form or in appearance.
trans·for·ma·tion
My business has transformed because of an amazing new beginning. Thanks to COVID. This was a chance for me to embrace new ways. To be true to me in how I am treating my business and treating my team. This opportunity allowed me as a leader to refocus on what’s most important: my business, my team, my customers and my budget.
As I am questioning and validating confirmation of my transformation, I know my employees are too. It’s funny, for decades now I have wanted allowance for a better work-home balance for my team. In corporate America, this was such a challenge! Now the universe has allowed us the opportunity. Not just an opportunity for me, but for the entire country to embrace a better balance between life and career. We have never been here before together, and it is pretty exciting! But if our business leaders aren’t listening, and I mean truly listening to their employees, then their results will suffer. In a period of time, post-pandemic, when good employees are scarce (for multiple reasons) business leaders must take action on what they are hearing from their most valuable asset, their employees!
So, how is my business transforming?
I will always allow my employees the opportunity to work from home on a limited structured schedule. I also believe in research and have taken into consideration recent survey studies from the Harvard University of successful options of a hybrid approach, in addition to the lessons and data collected over my 30 years of leadership experience managing individuals. Some of the other steps I have taken:
Evaluated which days are best for my customers, and which days the data shows us are most productive, then ADAPTED a schedule based on this information. For example, Tuesdays are considered the most productive workday and are the best days based on my business and customers' needs, so Tuesdays are an in-person workday.
Set a course for the next three months so that I can continuously evaluate decisions and monitor our path to success or failure, and redirect the plan if needed.
Consistently communicating with my customers and asking about their experience with my business and with my team. Remember, we are all experiencing our first post-pandemic transformation together.
I am fortunate that my business can adapt. Part of the reason why we were able to successfully navigate this transition is due to the fact that we had already been applying the 110 Philosophy™, we all knew the company vision, the team was on board and everyone knew that their role and input is valuable. They know I listen and take action. Together, we have implemented our plan and maintained a positive team atmosphere… in person and virtually.
"I truly believe that the successful companies of our future are those that can teach their organizations how to adapt, and bring out the very best in others and themselves!" - Luanne Cameron
When I hear businesses say we are making teams come back, not only are they missing an opportunity but they are not listening to employees. Unsatisfied employees are going to be more susceptible to being poached and more open to other opportunities. We are seeing this happen among large corporations where people will band together to demand a better work-home balance. They are saying “we know we can do it, we want to do it, we still want to work here…”
I recently received this photo from a 110 Philosophy™ fan who was traveling cross-country while working full-time, remotely. They would set up for the workweek in a new location, be productive and give their job full attention, then head out to a new location.
In the disability insurance world - it's always imperative to work with individuals to help them return to work before 10 months… all initial days are critical of course, but after 10 months a person begins settling into a different mindset and it becomes harder to transition back to work. Everybody has a new mindset now. This is why it is even more important now, as a leader, to keep yourself open to thinking differently. Technology and the pandemic have made that rapid change happen. Rapid change is not going away!
This is the time to think differently and to enjoy the euphoria of a great, successful work-life balance. How are you successfully transitioning and transforming your business for today, tomorrow and years to come?
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