Disruption and Opportunities
Stephanie Barnes, CEO of The Fruition Group, LLC, is “a writer who moonlights as a corporate attorney” as she likes to say. Stephanie helps women create the life you desire and deserve. She shared her thoughts on disruptive elevation and how to get your train on the right track when life derails you, but the importance of causing disruptions to realize even greater success.
Stephanie started out asking participants a series of questions: Are you feeling stuck? Tired of being ordinary? Want to be the stand out? Ready to make the best half the best half? Want to make yourself a priority? Ready to go from broke to breakthrough? Want more but don’t know where to begin?
She then moved on to explain how to fully embrace the disruptions you face to move to a place where you can realize your full potential.
Five steps to pivot from disruption to destiny.
Step One: Surrender.
Make a commitment to give up what was and embrace the possibility of what can be.
Step Two: Be Mindful and make a conscious decision to be aware of your thoughts, mindset, behaviors, and your surroundings (including people). “First, be aware that every thought creates a future,” Stephanie said. “Then, take actions, and surround yourself, with people that keep your business moving forward.”
Step Three: Create a Vision.
Translate your thoughts to action. Think about this: What is it you truly desire? Desire is a word that focuses on what it is you wish to bring forward. Write that out. Give it significance. That’s what creates the vision. “What you see is what you’ll be.”
Step Four: Decide.
At the heart of the word is the Latin suffix “-cide” which means to kill or cut off — so cut off all options and focus on the one that moves you forward. Everything you do has to connect you to your vision. “Knowledge without action is just trivia.” Here are five decision making questions to guide you:
- What can I control right now?
- What can I do right now?
- What can I do regardless of my circumstances that has a ROI (Return On Investment)? Or wasting resources/time?
- What do I need to do right now?
- What would I be doing right now even if everything were going as I planned it?
Step Five: Be Deliberate.
Women need to be the CEO of their lives by putting in the W.O.R.K.:
W: You can win by losing sometimes (loses can actually be releases).
O: Own your issues and do something about them (we can’t control other people but we can control ourselves).
R: Release, Refresh, Renew, Rejuvenate, Recommit and Rebound from relapse.
K: Keep your focus on your destiny.
How do you balance the rigor of planning and being fluid?
- You need to develop a bias towards action. There is no “right” time — there is “the” time and what you do with it. Yes, you need to plan and you need to reference your plan. But more importantly, you need to commit to moving. Waiting is not a wealth strategy.
What are tools that you’d recommend if we get stuck?
- Journaling: this is a great way to get your thoughts out of your head, privately.
- Affirmation statements: For Stephanie, these are “I am … “ statements. Make them plain so that you can understand them and say them aloud to yourself.
- Join mastermind/Accountability groups: you are powerful when you connect with likeminded people who share your dreams and your visions.
Summary:
Stephanie left participants with an analogy that leaves only one choice. Considering Netflix as a great example of disruptive innovation, offering a DVD-by-mail model that pushed the video rental business icon, Blockbuster, into bankruptcy, women have a choice to make. Will they be a Blockbuster, holding onto the past, or a Netflix, embracing disruption and evolving? The key to an entrepreneurial woman’s success is to both face and drive disruption in their marketing and business strategies.
