There comes a time to leave every role behind—whether you are moving up, out, or on. You don’t have to be at the end of your career and you certainly don’t want to be at the end of your rope and forced to leave before you consider: Is it time to move?

Just as you are never the last to leave a dinner or close down a bar—it just isn’t who you are—you are organizationally savvy enough to know when the party is in full swing and when it is winding down. You are alert and attentive, aligned with all your key stakeholders and your organizational goals. If you are self aware, mindful and intuitive, then you not only know how much time you have allotted to accomplish the task at hand, but you can also accurately calibrate how your organization values you and your accomplishments. You have staying power because you are able to assess when your stock is on the rise and when it is on the decline or about to tank. You have learned by now that everyone has a “shelf life” and an expiration date. Sharpen your observations. Pause, reflect and breathe.

Examine yourself through the eyes of your stakeholders and your managers or board. The questions are always the same: are you meeting or exceeding  expectations? And, are you accomplishing your goals and, for some, securing  your legacy? My friend Hensley often gauges progress by asking: Are you  moving the needle?

Calibrate: How are you perceived regarding the expectations—yours and your stakeholders’—and what you have accomplished? How much time has elapsed? For example, if you’ve been in the role for less than six months and you are not meeting commitments and expectations, then you are in the wrong place. Exit before they ask you to empty your desk. On the other hand, if six months have passed and you are meeting expectations and achieving your goals and commitments with passion, use your network, your charm and your organizational savvy to ensure that this role is either a springboard to your next opportunity or your crowning achievement.

Remember:  We almost always know when it is time to move on– the downside is that we
usually ignore our gut feelings. Why not get ahead of the game and trust your instinct. Remember, it is your choice.

From Chapter 17:  Is it Time To Move?

Have you considered the mindset that you will have on Wednesday, November 9, the day after the election? You have a choice—you can mindlessly repeat the pundits’ sound bytes and the unsavory words that characterize this election. You can disengage—walk away—with a wave of “whatever.” Or you can choose to wake up from the year-and-a-half-long election process and focus on creating a future that you want to live in.

You have a very important choice to make that will affect your mood, your integrity and your productivity. Start by being present and available to your family, friends and colleagues. In the spirit of “getting there and staying there,” ask questions that haven’t been asked before about the issues, values and the future you want for yourself, friends, family and colleagues. Actively choose mindfulness over being mindless—you will wake up! Choose to be present, actively notice new things and you will notice that you are more “you” again with a fertile opportunity to say what matters.

I am in the same boat as you. I may even be in a worse state because it seems that I have been sleepwalking the last three days. I am eager to make what I say matter by initiating conversations that have the possibility of heralding the world that I want: I share a conversation that Werner Erhard originated:   “A world that works for everyone with no one or nothing left out.” Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

Here are a few quotations that may spark your new conversation

“Our task must be to widen our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert Einstein

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” Buckminster Fuller

“The Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed” –Mahatma Gandhi

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

Yes, November 8, 2016, is an important event but equally important is what you—we—say and choose to do going forward. I am not asking you to walk away from the dynamics and the emotional zenith of election night. I am inviting you to switch the channel, take a different path.

Begin now: Pause, breathe and consider the conversations that you will entertain and give weight too. Imagine switching channels from before the election and now after the election. Or you can imagine following WAZE to navigate a less trafficked path. Continue the switch by having conversations about the things that you are for—not what you are against. Choose mindfully and remember to: “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

Q: I want to move from IT into biotechnology. I have a transferable skill set, but when I interview, they say I need biotech experience to be hired. Sounds like a Catch 22. What can I do?

A: Great that you have transferable skills and you can clearly articulate how your experiences will contribute to a role in biotechnology. It can be frustrating to hear that you need previous experience in an industry to be hired, but don’t get discouraged. It’s up to you to make the case that you not only have the skill, you are passionate about the industry. You have to convey that you are not just looking for a job, you are committing to a career.

Prepare by addressing the following:

• Are you solely focused on biotechnology or do you have your foot in two camps? Note: If you are unsure, you will not be able to hide it when you interview.
• Why biotech, now?
• Why is the research or drug discovery of this specific company important and relevant to you?
• Do you have a personal connection? For example, a grandparent, parent, sibling diagnosed or living with disease that is the subject of your company’s research?

Remember to take time and learn the language and understand the culture. I learned a lot from reading The Billion Dollar Molecule about the founding of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Good luck and let me know what happens, OK?

Being successful is one thing; being recognized for the value that you bring is another. The extent to which you are known determines your value. Value and visibility go together. Besides understanding what you bring to the party, you must know who in the organization values your contribution and why. Then you must communicate your “value-add” in order to get the outcome you desire.

Think again about the sound byte you developed earlier. Take some time to refine it, so that you are comfortable using it when you are introducing yourself. For example, “I’m Arthur Blank. My team developed the Statler solution last quarter.” “I’m Stella Michaels from Legal. I’m just coming off the Widget patent case, which I’m happy to say was resolved in our favor.” Many people are uncomfortable with self-promotion. They don’t want be seen as a person who brags or who takes credit for the accomplishments of others.

Remember: There is a big difference between “selling” and “telling.” If you perform real work of genuine value, you aren’t boasting when you mention your success. If you are one of those quiet types who are waiting to be noticed, you may end waiting forever.  My question to you is, if you don’t talk about who you are and what you have accomplished, who will?

You have a choice: visible or invisible.  Will you wait or get moving. It’ s up to you. What will you do?

From Chapter 1: DO I HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF

Q: UGH! to the smutty campaign headlines. How do I handle conversations with my clients and friends?

A: I am asking myself the exact same question. I found myself using language with my friends that I picked up from the headlines, without realizing that I had inadvertently joined the “smutty” talk as opposed to being responsible for the conversation.   By her example, First Lady Michelle Obama demonstrated how to change the discourse by speaking personally– almost intimately– from her values and vision.

And I have to tell you that I can’t stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.

So while I’d love nothing more than to pretend like this isn’t happening and come out here and do my normal campaign speech, it would be dishonest and disingenuous to me to just move on to the next thing like this was all just a bad dream. This is not something that we can ignore. This is not something that we can sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season ….

And I have to tell you that I listen to all of this, and I feel it so personally. And I’m sure that many of you do, too, particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. It is cruel. It’s frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts.

The First Lady is a sterling example of how we can speak authentically and it begins by having the courage to talk about what matters personally to us and resist being carried along by sensational headlines.

Here are questions to consider:

• Are you and your friends or colleagues the source of the conversations you having?
• Are you talking about topics and issues that reflect your values and beliefs?
• Do your conversations have depth?
• Are you elevated or do you feel defeated when the conversation ends?
• Do you press “pause” and say, “Enough! Why are we talking about this?”

I am reminded, and I hope that you are too, to talk about what matters, change the conversation and go high when others go low.

“Enough is enough…This is bad for women, yes. But it’s also bad for all of us.”

How do you respond to change? Do you avoid it, or do you say “Bring it on!” Do you see change as a continual flow or as episodic and event-driven? When you face change that originates outside your control, are you worried? afraid? excited?

What do you need to know before you can embrace a change? The answers to these questions depend largely on whether you perceive the change as an opportunity or a threat, because your brain reacts differently to each. If your brain sees the change as positive it releases dopamine, causing a feeling of pleasure. But the neural reaction to “danger” triggers panic. You actually think less. Everyone’s threshold and definition of “dangerous” change is different—some people love roller coasters, some hate them. What kinds of change signal “danger” to you?

When you know how you typically relate to change, you can anticipate your reaction and prepare yourself to move forward. Some people respond to change with analysis. They want to understand the details, the rationale, the possible outcomes good and bad; once they get their answers, they can move forward. Others respond more emotionally; new situations temporarily lower their confidence and belief in their abilities, so they need to remind themselves of past successes and consider how they will handle the challenge.

How do you respond?

From Chapter 5: How Can I Anticipate and Embrace Change

Q: I came here to get away from a bad manager. Everything was great until– I can’t believe it– I got layered. Ugh! This guy doesn’t even know what I do.

A:  Sounds like you have a several things going on:  (1) an unexpected organizational change, (2) a change in your reporting relationship that can effect your status, access, (3) a new manager who didn’t hire you and with whom you have no previous work experience. That’s a lot of change.

So, no surprise that you have been pushed back on your heels–a flood of change can do that. The downside is that it triggers a pattern–holding fast to your familiar anchors.  That is, holding on to what you know. We do that by assuming, which leaves us with our feet nailed to the floor.

Assuming is a fall-back position that allows us to fit people, events and ideas into neat tidy boxes so that we can get a handle on what is going on.  However, remember that when you assume, you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.”   In other words, what we think we know blinds us to what is. I know that I have been in that situation before.

Take off the blinders by asking the following questions:

• Given the change, are your skills, relationships and knowledge relevant?
• How will you contribute to your new manager’s success?
• What projects can you initiate that will be critical or important to the organization’s new direction?
• What steps have you taken to create a trusting relationship with your new manager?

Remember that it’s up to you to adjust to the new reality and make it work for you.  That’s why so many self-help books stress resilience and agility.  But you do not have to change who you are to be successful.  Just keep in mind the following:

Are you still focused on the content of your role?

When you are in a new position it is natural to focus on your new responsibilities—the content of your role. But frankly, it is assumed that you have the content under control—that is why you received the promotion. The true key to appreciating and adjusting to your new reality is being aware of context. I often suggest that my clients draw a doughnut, put themselves in the center, on the next area write process and the outer circle “context.” The context is the environment you must navigate both in your organization and in your industry.

If you have learned nothing else by reading this book, you know by now that diving into your work or getting buried in the task and concentrating on meeting your metrics will throw you off the path. (Yes, I deliberately mixed those diving, burying and throwing metaphors to grab your attention.) How you get to your goal—understanding the process—is more important than the goal itself. With the right processes in place, you can tackle any objective, and make a touchdown even when the goalposts move (to add another metaphor to the pile!).

Note that following a process, going step by step, isn’t the same thing as using linear thinking. Linear thinking is like being on railroad track or being railroaded—it’s automatic, predicable; it will keep you heading into a tunnel even though you see the headlight of an oncoming train. You wouldn’t be where you are today if you led with linear thinking. By contrast, following a process is a good idea—breaking things into steps and communicating those steps to others is at the core of Six Sigma, LEAN, Balanced Scorecard and project management.

Working closely with Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the father of the quality movement, I led improvements in both manufacturing and state government processes. Interestingly, psychologist  Ellen Langer reached an appreciation for processes from a completely different starting point: not from a desire for statistical improvement but from her understanding of mindlessness and its corollary, mindfulness.

Remember: Be aware of the context, next the key processes that link to the content of your
role.  You will find that there is almost always room to contribute and make improvements.

From Chapter  12  p 117: Have I Adjusted My Thinking to the New Requirements of Leadership?

Q:  My friends say that I avoid the big issues by kicking the can down the road.  Frankly, I agree. I feel like my life is stuck.

A:   When you look at all of the things that you want to do, have to do and should do, it’s easy to see an intimidating and unscalable mountain. And, when you see the task at hand as being a no-win situation, it makes perfect sense avoid taking it on.  However, it’s possible that you may have been in this position for a very long time and, as a result, the cacophony of pros and cons in your head is keeping you firmly where you are.  A jumble of thoughts and a murky goal or vision can keep you emotionally churning and stuck.  Ugh!

I know you have heard this before, but it bears repeating:  Change how you look at your situation by being brutally honest.  Ask:

• How has “kicking the can down the road” affected the quality of your life?
• Are you stuck, unfulfilled, bored, and lonely?  If yes, what do you want your life or career to be?  Describe in detail or make a collage. [Note—Focus on “what,” not “how.”]
• Now that you are clear about what you want and how you will feel when you attain it, are you ready to take one step?

If yes, it is time to choose the emotion that will fuel your actions.  Based on what motivates you, how will you begin? Which task on your list will you choose?

• The easiest?–I know how to do this!
• The most fun or engaging?
• The fastest?—I can finish this one today!
• The one you can complete with colleague?
• The one that will have the most impact?

Choose one, do it now and declare victory by saying “I am on the right path!”

I recommend beginning with the low-hanging fruit– if it is fun or something you can do with a friend it is likely to be an easy first step.  For example, when I have a mountain of work in front of me, I get unstuck by scheduling a meeting or writing a thank you note before I dive into writing the next chapter of my new book.

Remember:  We all get stuck.  How quickly you get unstuck determines your happiness and success.  So, get moving — pick the easiest task and you are on your way.

I often remind my clients that when they ask themselves “yes or no” questions about their abilities, the answer is almost always a resounding “no.” “Do I have the right stuff? Can I do this” are typical questions. It is much easier to see what’s wrong with ourselves than it is to recognize all the things that are not only “right” but also valued by others.

Seeing what is “right” is especially challenging if you are a self described perfectionist caught up in the cycle of always change it from “Do I have the ‘right stuff ’?” moving the bar and forever falling short. So re-think the question and to “What’s ‘right’ about me?” Now you are ready to focus on the areas in which you can shine.

To accelerate your move to the next level, leverage your strengths—yourunique skills and talents. Your talents will open the door to the next opportunities,but focusing on your weakness will close your eyes to possibilities. As you climb the ladder, choose to be elevated by your strengths and see yourfuture as “half full.” If you climb the ladder weighed down by all the things you think you are not good at, you will surely see the glass “half empty.”Making this mental shift of seeing yourself from the other person’s point of view is not easy—it requires attention and practice. That’s why your personal marketing campaign will help keep you on course.

Why not explore possibilities and expand your brand by ditching yes/no questions and
asking opened ones.   For example, what’s next for you?

From Chapter 1: Do I have the Right Stuff?, page 6