Earlier this week, I was in Chicago leading a Bud to Boss Workshop. During the workshop, I told a story I often tell about a situation in my life where, as a leader of a team, I was confronted with large scale changes that impacted me in ways that I could not change or control.

Without going into all the details here, the main point of the story came from a decision I made and I encouraged the other members of my team to make. The decision was to do a “cost-benefit analysis” of our new situation.

Did it offer us more positive or more negative?

If it was more positive, we needed to go forward without complaining about the negative because we had chosen to accept it into our lives for the moment.

If it was more negative, we needed to develop a plan to leave the situation. And, having made the decision to leave, we needed to quit complaining because we were taking action to fix our frustration.

In my case, I chose to stay. I decided to fix what I could. Attempt to exert positive influence on those things that I couldn’t directly change. And to forget about the rest.

Another person asked for my help in finding another job. I did that, and he was happy.

After telling the story, one of the workshop participants shared a variation of the thought that she had read elsewhere. If I knew the original source, I would give credit. Since I don’t, I will simply acknowledge that this terminology didn’t come from me even though I really like the simplicity of it.

Here’s the thought.

When confronted with a frustrating situation (job change, buy-out, merger, etc.), do your “cost-benefit analysis” and choose one of these options:

Take It

Accept the change with all of its good and bad components, and realize that it is your choice to stay.

Leave It

If the negative outweighs the positive for you, get out. Life is too short to stay (for very long) in a situation you hate.

Change It

Take action to fix the things that you can fix or change. Do everything in your power to make the situation better while recognizing the difference between those things that you can control, the people that you can influence, and everything else that you can neither control nor influence.

After you make your choice, quit complaining about it.

My experience with this approach has taught me this: I still might not like parts of the environment, but the choice to take responsibility for being there rather than blaming others for my situation greatly reduces the daily stress and frustration I might feel from being in the environment.

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I have only known the product as a protective wrap for packaging. Interestingly enough, packaging was not its originally intended application. The inventors first thought that it could be used as a wall covering.

When the wall covering idea didn’t pan out, they shifted gears and founded the company that made Bubble Wrap famous – Sealed Air Corporation.

From wall covering to packaging product and eventually to a nearly $5 billion dollar/year business. That’s quite a reinvention.

I think we can all learn a thing or two from this story. Here’s one idea that immediately struck me today when I heard it:

Reinvent Yourself For Greater Success

The idea of reinventing yourself may not apply to everyone, but it does apply to many of us. Maybe you have lost a job you have had for a long time. Maybe your business crashed in 2009. Maybe you’re just tired of doing what you’ve been doing for the last 10, 20, or 30 years. I don’t know your specific situation. I do know that you can reinvent yourself. And, like Bubble Wrap, you just might achieve greater success.

Reinvention is part of my story. Here’s the short version.

• Nearly 20 year’s in technical training and/or roles:
  • Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering officer in the US Submarine fleet
  • Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering
  • Process/product development and Technical service roles in the Chemical industry
• Communication skills, conflict resolution, team building, and leadership development trainer, coach, and consultant.

Did you catch the reinvention part of the story?

You see, I’m a lot like Bubble Wrap. For part of my career, I diligently pursued technical roles. They fit my personality, and the technical work was comfortable. I just didn’t enjoy parts of the environment I worked in when I did the technical work. So, I made a change.

The change has not always been easy. In fact, it hasn’t always been profitable. I have enjoyed what I’ve learned. I’ve enjoyed the flexibility to take my daughter’s to school pretty much whenever I want. I’ve enjoyed the freedom to generally work the hours that I want to work. Funny thing is: I work longer hours now than I ever did when I worked for other people (except for the time I was in the Navy).

I’m  not suggesting that reinvention is for everyone. Nor am I suggesting that the path to success after reinvention is free of obstacles. I am suggesting that reinvention is possible.

So, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bubble Wrap, let’s learn from it’s early history. When your initial idea doesn’t work out as planned, look for new ways to apply what you have learned.

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