Project: Be Unpredictable

Sometimes you have to use multiple platforms and methods. Sometimes you have to hire to fill every C-Level position. Sometimes you have to be mainstream. Sometimes you end up losing a bit of spark from your original plan.

Worse case scenario, there are moments when people know what you are going to do before you do. That’s because sometimes being an entrepreneur turns into being cost effective. It turns more profitable than you could have imagined. 

But as risk-takers there comes a time you have to be unpredictable. You have to take several steps back to the drawing board rather than turn to the Board.

Yeah, you’re thinking, everybody has already done it before; you just have to figure out a way to do it differently, even if that differently means to speak it in your voice.

No one thinks the way you do; use it to your advantage.

So how can you be unpredictable? (Isn’t reading about that and planning for that predictable?)

Be Open to Timeframes – A company that is set in stone and has a rigid five-year plan will miss too many opportunities. Time, technology and we as humans are changing so rapidly we can’t plan too far in advance. Leave room for adaptability and you’ll leave room for unpredictability.

Be Open to Advice – Whether it’s good, bad, left field, right field, from the old or really young, it doesn’t mean you have to take it, but any advice will help guide you to who you really are and who you want to be. And once you intake advice you act – unpredictably – on which you feel is wisest.

Be Open to Failure – Although it looks right in your mind and on the drawing board, success doesn’t always transfer to real life or happen overnight. Out of failure comes resilience, the need to be innovative and the room to be unpredictable.

-The Green Couch

Project: Dr. Seuss’ Advice on Risks and Rewards

Between his made-up words, make-believe worlds and tongue twisters – and even his fictitious doctoral title and multiple pseudonyms – we associate him as a child’s leader. He is our loveable, well known Dr. Seuss.

Dr. Seuss’ brilliance was destined for children’s literature, but his wisdom encompasses entrepreneurs and all those willing to take a risk. Whether you are diving off the literal or figurative diving board, the climb is the lesser frightening task. It is the first bounce that takes the most might.

Maybe you will have to keep your eyes shut, maybe you will have to summon all your strength. However, when it comes time to ask why you are doing what you are about to do – why or whether you should jump, Seuss has some sage advice:

• “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” – Dr. Seuss

That is what always prompts the journey. Right?

• “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Seuss

Your dreams are not supposed to align with others’. That’s why they are YOURS.

• “To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.” – Dr. Seuss

Your idea may be the next BIG idea. Pursue it and its purpose. The world needs more thinkers who are doers.

• “Oh, the things you can find if you don't stay behind!” – Dr. Seuss

If life is a risk, do you have what it is to be a taker? Do not let fear keep you from checking out of your comfort zone.

• “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.” – Dr. Seuss

Creativity: Breathe it. Live it. Embrace it. Love it.

• “It is better to know how to learn than to know.” – Dr. Seuss

Be humble and happy to learn from those around you. Satisfaction guaranteed to a wiser you.

• “You have to be odd to be number one” – Dr. Seuss

Touché! Be bold, bigger than life and go with your gutsy.

What is odd about you? How will you be the world to one person? How will you wake up your brain cells? How will you Seuss up your lifestyle?

-The Green Couch

Project: SuPEERiors...Respect in The Workplace

Can your boss be your friend? Or is that bull? Is that just sucking up? Is it just a grown up case of teacher’s pet?

Sure you may see them as your peers and there may even be a sense of genuine camaraderie – he or she is a person whom you trust and can fully rely on both on and off the work campus. You’ve been given the privilege and honor to call them by their first name. You know the family and are invited to the annual Fourth of July BBQ.

But where’s that fine line? How to co-exist with your colleagues who may not have that intimate relationship or turn off that friendship when it comes time to take instructions or maybe reprimands?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. We know what it means to Aretha Franklin, but what does it mean to you, your company culture and most importantly, your suPEERior?

Here are a few ways to recognize the fundamentals of respect and to implement them no matter the relationship status of any of your peers:

• Remember Your Position: That whole pubescent catchphrase, “You’re not the boss of me?” Yeah, you need to leave that at the door when you enter the building. It is that simple. Remember who hired you, who signs your paycheck, who has ownership of the title and who has the experience. You have never been in their position, so it does not matter whether you think you are right, they have the executive rights.

• Take Responsibility: If you mess up, fess up. It is the lesser preferred avenue of honesty, but it is the type of integrity that will not only keep the relationship strong, but will enable the office momentum to stay strong. Rather than delaying the progress of the project by trying to figure out whodunit, or trying to resolve the aftermath once an issue is found, if you mess up, fess up.

•  Do Not Complain: No one likes it. It makes you look bad, the company look bad, and your boss look bad.

• Read The Employee Handbook and Corporate Emails: There are reasons rules are written, and emails are sent. Maybe some of the mandates are outdated, but being aware of the culture of your company and the history is vital to the representation.

• Ask For Advice: It goes back to that whole experience thing. Whether it is a dissatisfied client, a disruptive inner office conflict or performance review, ask your boss how you can improve the situation and no matter what the cold hard facts are, face them and conquer them

It can be a team of two or two-thousand; no matter how large a company can grow respect is essential to any relationship.

-The Green Couch