Think about your own behavior patterns. Does the shoe fit? Is there some area in your life where you are repeating some pattern over and over while expecting different results to occur?
I recently read a very good article by HR executive Lee E. Miller who drove this point home for job hunters whose searches were dragging on and on. Miller’s main point, You have got to stop repeating things that aren’t working. Instead, you’ve got to ask yourself, What can I do differently?
Sounds like a great strategy. But how do you do it? And where do you get new ideas to replace your existing ones?
In his article, Miller offered a bunch of good ideas. Last night, as the guest speaker at a job search support group, I taught the attendees an old organization development procedure called the Start Stop Continue (SSC) Method as a way to generate new ideas.
It goes like this. Think of your goal. Then, ask yourself these three questions:
What could I Start doing that would increase movement toward my goal?
What could I Stop doing that would increase movement toward my goal?
What could I Continue doing, but with some modification and improvement, that would increase movement toward my goal?
I got the attendees into small groups to share and discuss possible activities in these three categories. They came up with a slew of ideas!
So how about you? Do you have a goal you are trying to reach, but find yourself making scant progress? Try the SSC Method.
Terrence H. Seamon is an organization development consultant who provides leadership and team development services to employers in New Jersey. Follow him on twitter @tseamon.
