A client calls and upset about your service/products.

A great employee quits.

Someone does something unexpected that you feel is wrong.

Challenges are part of life. As much as we dream of a life without them, a challenge-free life would be very boring and unfulfilling. We would stop growing.

Just a quick suggestion: The next challenge you face, insult you receive, unexpected interaction that occurs... PAUSE before responding, and simply ask yourself:

"What am I supposed to learn through this situation?"

The answer may surprise you.

Watch for the e-book version of my next book, The Company Culture Challenge, out later this month!

MEETING IDEAS Challenges are a blessing in our lives, yet often it is difficult to separate the learning opportunity from our frustration at not having our expectations or hopes met.

Here are some ideas for how you might discuss the way you and your people respond to challenges with your team:

1.  List what you could learn from challenges.  For instance, a new behavior, possibly a company value-standard-policy... needs to be changed, the situation indicates you need to train your people better, a client costs more to keep than the revenue they bring in, an employee is not a match with your company culture...

2.  List the frustrations, unexpected problems, bad behavior by others and any other challenges you have had during the past week.

3.  Openly discuss what you are supposed to learn from each of these situations.  At first consider all options. In the end, you may decide you are supposed to apply only 1-2 of the possibilities.

4.  Determine how you will take action on what you learned and how there will be accountability to confirm the changes made are occuring and creating more positive outcomes.