June 30, 2008

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Turn Complaints into Solutions - Article

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Developing Positive Leaders, Organizations and Teams

Greetings!

Turn Complaints into Solutions

Despite the title, The No Complaining Rule, the goal is not to eliminate all complaining. Just mindless complaining that negatively impacts our health and happiness and sabotages our individual and team success. And the bigger goal is to turn complaints into solutions and positive actions. After all, every complaint represents an opportunity to turn something negative into a positive.

While the title of my new book may make some think that I want to stifle complaining, in actuality, my approach is that people, teams and organization need to befriend complaining and make it work for us rather than against us.

Instead of letting complaining generate negative energy, we can use it for a positive purpose. We can use our own complaints as a "signal" or "sign," letting us know we are on the negative road and then in the next moment we can take a detour to get on the positive road. Every complaint has an opposite. Each time we catch ourselves complaining, we can say, "Okay, I don’t like this or I’m not happy about this. So then, what do I want? What will make me happy? What thought will bring me peace instead of frustration? What positive actions can I take to rectify this complaint? What solution will address this problem?"

We can use complaining as a catalyst for positive change and positive action in our own lives, at work, and in the world. The key is to turn complaints into solutions. In this spirit try this exercise.

1. Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle.

2. On the left side write down your complaints about your life, your career, your work, and whatever else that irks you.

3. On the right side next to each complaint write a solution or positive action you will take to address the complaint.

4. Take Action

5. Note that some might say that certain complaints are beyond their control, such as $4 a gallon for gas. In this case, really think about it and decide if there is something you can do to take action. We have more influence than we think. Often we just need to take action.

6. For your team there is a team action plan in the back of The No Complaining Rule.

Share your complaints, solutions and commitment to action on our blog.

Stay Positive!

-Jon

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"Excuses always come from the losing locker room. In Jon Gordon's book The No Complaining Rule, he provides the winning edge."

- Coach Lou Holtz