There are two kinds of people in the world: The kind that has the next 10 years of their lives planned out, and the kind that has about the next 10 minutes planned.
I don’t know about you, but I fall in the latter.
Because change is the only constant, no two days are alike. Life throws a curve ball our way almost every single day. Yet we learn to deal with the surprises by sharpening our swords and attacking the situations head-on.
For many of us, the Adaptability sword is one of the best to sharpen to deal with everyday unexpected changes, especially if you’re in the service industry.
Every few days a customer comes up with an almost out-of-the-world request, and it is our duty to meet or exceed those expectations. Sometimes we can rely on foolproof solutions, but most times we are expected to work with existing resources to come up with creative ways to solve the problem.
For example, a simple chain of events that happens is as follows:
- A customer makes a reservation for 20 people.
- On the day itself, 50 people arrive!
- Do you stick to the protocol of “no last minute turn ups”, thereby rejecting the other 30 people?
- Or do you scramble to see what you can do to create the best experience for them?
Now, we would not want to create unhappy customers right from the very start. So we to try to create the best experience for them. We scramble to gather what resources we can find to accommodate the extra 30 people. Adaptability at work! If existing resources permit, our efforts would always be successful!
Come to think about it, those existing resources were planned to be there at the start…
I guess I can’t say that “It Is A Good Habit Not To Plan”. Scratch that title! Instead, “Why It Is A Good Habit To Plan For The Unplanned”.
StrengthsAsia has helped many individual and corporate clients all throughout the region in identifying and maximizing their talents, in driving engagement and increasing motivation in their work and life.
If you want to learn more about the 34 talent themes or discover how you can apply your talent themes in the areas of your work and your life, feel free to reach out to us here.
Aly is StrengthsAsia’s marketing and communications guru and lead editor. She's over the top inquisitive and everyone in the company knows her as “The Googler” as she practically googles everything. Honestly, we all worry for her… She is also the Principal Trainer for our one of a kind ice cream team building workshops in Asia.