Business Lessons for Menopause - How to be a Disruptor.
Remember when all the talk in the business world was about capital-I-Innovation – when people were falling all over themselves to find (or be!) the next “Disruptor?”
This might not sound like it has anything to do with menopause, but stick with me.
I was reminded of the concept of disruption when I stumbled upon a book I co-wrote some years ago with a friend and mentor of mine, who just happens to be an amazing, wildly accomplished, and gorgeous woman who could be an example for us all in how to age graciously and elegantly, but that’s a story for another time.
In this book, we referenced an article that had been widely shared within marketing and business circles in the early 2000s about Ivy Ross, an executive from Mattel who discovered the secret to fostering innovation and super-charging the creative output of her team. Tasked with turning around a sinking division, she was frustrated by the inability of her team to come up with the Next Big Thing – every product idea they came up with was just an iteration of something they had already done – and she needed a blockbuster. Her team was stuck in a rut, cranking out more and more of the same; she was after Disruption.
The answer to turning stagnation into innovation according to Ms. Ross, is simple: do something different. She discovered that if she wanted a different output from her team, they needed different inputs. Her solution involved taking the team on field trips to learn completely unrelated things like how to perform a Japanese tea ceremony, Jungian analysis, and improv comedy. These new experiences inspired the team to think differently, come up with new associations and ideas, and open up to synchronicities and strokes of genius that could be applied to the problems at hand.
The article is written from a business perspective, but I think the concepts apply equally to menopause – or life in general, really.
I talk quite a bit about how all our various inputs – nutrition, movement, environment, relationships, mindset – affect our outputs, or the ways we experience menopause and the overall state of our health and happiness in general. Everything is connected, which is why it is so important to consider the totality of what is going on in your life if you want to improve specific outcomes. Doing what you’ve always done has gotten you to where you are right now. To get somewhere different, you’ll have to walk a new path.**
In other words, if you want to inspire change in your health and your life, you need to be a Disruptor. Where can you innovate (change your inputs) in order to see different outputs in your life? Whether the change you seek has to do with menopause, your marriage, or finding your purpose, shifting even one input can have a powerful effect. The shift can be as simple as reading a new book, eating plant-based one day a week, or taking a walk in a different neighborhood; as elaborate as going back to school or training for the Ironman. Doing something different, no matter the scale of the change, will absolutely alter your outcomes - often in surprising or unexpected ways.
Here’s a challenge: this week, make a commitment to be a Disruptor and innovate in your life. Do something totally different, and see how it affects you, physically and otherwise. You may be surprised at how far the effects of one small change can reverberate. Following are just a few ideas to get you started. The change could be anything at all – the sky’s the limit here.
Take public transit or ride your bike instead of driving to your destination
Try a new (vegan!) recipe
Sign up for a free class from some of the country’s top Universities at Open Culture or edX
Plan a date night at home – make a delicious meal, set the table, dress up, and dine by candlelight
Be a tourist in your own town – visit a museum or cultural institution that you’ve never seen
Shake up your workout routine and try a new class
Cut out sugar for three days and see what happens to your mind and body
Meditate for five minutes
I’d love to hear your Disruptor stories… drop me a line or comment below to let me know how changing things up has affected your life – and menopause.
**P.S. Some people are resistant to any sort of change when it comes to their health and wellbeing, and prefer to stick with the devil they know. Rather than risk treading that new path we talked about, they want to skip the walk altogether and go directly to the destination, not unlike the transporter from Star Trek. I think of prescription meds in this way – they offer a quick and convenient way to get from A to B, but you just don’t really know what is happening when you scramble up your biology. Maybe it will be fine, but why take the chance? The journey can be as much fun as the destination. 😊
P.P.S. If you want to disrupt menopause, there is still time to join my Mastering Menopause group, starting up May 31st! You’ll learn how to decode your body’s signals and make the subtle shifts in your inputs that will act like rocket fuel for your outputs. Click here for all the details and to register.