A blog about leadership: One small method that quickly brings you to an intelligent reaction

From OUCH to WOW

'Wow, my foot ...'
That’s roughly how I react when I win the Lotto or receive a surprising and joyful piece of news. This reaction can be more or less juicy. But you probably understand the meaning.

'Ouch and damn ...'
This is roughly how I react when I am told that we have to reorganize the office and move to building H. The reaction can easily be more or less juicy. But you probably understand this meaning as well.

Two understandable reactions
These reactions can last from quite a few seconds to several years. From 'Ouch' to 'Wow'. Quite human, in fact. And now comes my point:

From OUCH to WOW
We must move to the SECOND REACTION as soon as possible. The first reaction is 'Ouch' or 'Wow'. First reaction shuts the steam. First reaction dumps a whole lot of words out on the floor. First reaction is sometimes shrill and violent. First reaction is an animal reaction that does not involve our intelligence.

First reaction is a stepping board
The reaction is for us to move forward. It is a kind of step board. A step board between the experience and what we can use the experience for.

Second reaction is gold
It is when you say words like:

I think ...
I mean ...
I experience ...
I believe ...

- that you start the 'workshop' on your top floor. Then you start combining, imagining, playing, fantasizing, dribbling, thinking and much more good.

I have won the lottery 
As soon as I finish laughing, cheering and shaking my head I can start thinking about my future. I think I want to buy myself a new bike and a pair of new running shoes or maybe an island in The Caribien. I think I will contact my bank adviser. I experience that I have won a lot of money, so I also want to talk to my family.

Use your 'SECOND REACTION'

When you need to examine what you have learned.
When you need to ventilate something.
When you are going to give constructive feedback.
When you want to examine what you are really facing.
When you want to prepare yourself and others for a task.

First and second reaction
We all struggle with 'First Reactions' - throughout the day. But the faster you can recover from your initial reaction the better and the more effective you become. The faster you and I can move towards the SECOND REACTION - the stronger we are as human beings - alone and together.

Written by Michael Meinhardt, LEADERS WAREHOUSE.