In the 1920s, Walter Cannon first developed the theory of “Fight or Flight”. According to About Education “The fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response, refers to a physiological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically.” Acute stress response is a chain of rapidly occurring reactions inside the body help mobilize the body’s resources to deal with threatening circumstances.
We envision a small dog up against a lion or a mild mannered student facing a bully, but has anyone ever imagined a business experiencing this psychological stress when it comes to technology? It is an easy connection to this condition
I just attended the Sleeter Group’s “Solutions 14” conference in Las Vegas, NV. There were poignant keynote addresses, fun flash mob dances (I actually engaged in this folly) and amazing solutions in the rows of vendor booths. But I was fascinated by the Leslie Shiner session that linked psychology to our client relationships. It made me realize that, although I am a freak about trying new apps or taking risks by researching and jumping onto new systems, everyone is not made of that cloth. All men/women are not created equal and all businesses do not embrace change in the same manner, no matter how logical the argument. They, too, experience fight or flight, but not in an instinctual way, not in their psyche. Fight comes in the form of fighting change, holding onto the past, rationalizing that “we have always done time sheets/billing/paying employees this way”. Others leap, or TAKE FLIGHT, onto a solution that saves money, reduces errors, automates processes in an efficient and effective way.
Ms. Shiner gave us great insight on helping those clients who fight change, even if the change is for the good and not for the sake of change. Her method was moving our clients up the triangle of broad to pinpointed stages, the pinnacle being a state of Self Actualization, i.e. a well run business. There are hills to climb, but passion, patience and persistence are how we must help them realize this goal. To get there, there are achievable measures along the way:
- Lowest rung is Psychological: Money In/Money Out, a simple start is tracking transactions
- Safety: Reconcile starting with the fab four, including Cash, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory
- Love & Belonging: Create accurate financial numbers that fit together, achieving comfort in seeing the numbers
- Esteem: Make good business decisions based on financial numbers (How many people are achieving this?)
- Finally, Self Actualization
If we as consultants make a conscious effort in realizing these dream alongside our clients, imagine the impact on our clients and our self esteem, not to mention growth of our respective practices. Each step motivates the client and ourselves to push forward into new territory as we recognize the need to automate the transaction flow. It is then that those who fight off our suggestions to use an automated time tracking software, payroll or mobile reporting start to trust our recommendations and forge ahead with technology. There is no better way to achieve elation than to institute apps such as TSheets Time Tracking, ZenPayroll or SalePad Mobile to help remove the barriers that bottleneck information.
By the way, this model applies to anyone who wants to influence change. My goal is to take these steps alongside my clients, friends and family, moving towards bettering themselves and their businesses by starting simple and moving up the ladder to success. Tell me about your pinnacle to the top. What hills, hurdles and bumps in the road did you experience to find self actualization. Are you still going to fight change or take flight in the future? Come on, let me hear YOUR story of taking flight!
