{"id":16213,"date":"2023-10-04T02:35:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T02:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/startups\/five-steps-toward-order-amid-the-post-diagnosis-chaos\/"},"modified":"2023-10-04T02:35:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T02:35:57","slug":"five-steps-toward-order-amid-the-post-diagnosis-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=16213","title":{"rendered":"Five Steps Toward Order Amid The Post-Diagnosis Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Anne Lackey is the co-founder of <\/em>HireSmart Virtual Employees<\/em>, a full-service HR firm helping others recruit, hire & train top global talent.<\/em><\/p>\n

When \u201ccancer\u201d drops from the doctor\u2019s lips, it\u2019s as if those six letters hit the floor and alter the planet\u2019s gravity, a new weight in everything.<\/p>\n

I was that patient. I\u2019m also a business owner. The blindside news rocks personal and professional frameworks like a storm. The business owner wants to be OK but also fears for her people: her family, employees and clients. We mourn the loss of our old plans and are forced to rapidly construct new ones at home and at work.<\/p>\n

I see all the pink in October, and it gets to me, the experience of living through cancer and knowing the vast impact it has in countless lives, and the business world, too.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t profess to know what works for others, but here is my framework, and perhaps it will help another business owner who receives that dreaded diagnosis. I call it \u201cAnne\u2019s A-List\u201d: acceptance, assessment, accountability, action and arrival.<\/p>\n

Acceptance<\/h2>\n

There is no \u201cshould\u201d in emotions\u2014only \u201cis.\u201d We don\u2019t choose our feelings. They simply happen. And the feelings roar when you get that word. Just let them. Right away, accept that it is OK to experience the flood of emotions and questions. I never smoked. I eat well. I don\u2019t live in a risky way. But I was diagnosed with tongue cancer. I felt disbelief, rage, sadness and worry. My husband was in emotional turmoil, too. Why? How? What? These words vexed us. We started multiple businesses together, which requires a life of constant planning. We took joy in mapping every turn in our journey. Cancer was never in the plans. For two dark weeks, we lived in an emotional abyss. We were sure I would die tomorrow or perhaps the day after that. Don\u2019t judge yourself for such panic. Just recognize that the emotional bomb drop is also a call for assessment, accountability and action.<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n

Assessment<\/h2>\n

Like Randall and Beth in \u201cThis is Us,\u201d my husband and I often play the worst-case scenario game. It\u2019s part of our business thinking, always assessing whether the \u201cworst\u201d outcome can be overcome before we make a decision. After the diagnosis, my \u201cworst\u201d case was me gone, my husband\u2019s life in disarray, my employees losing their livelihood and my clients no longer served. Obviously, not everything could be in my control. But some things could. And here\u2019s the big one: Establish your \u201cPrime Directive,\u201d as in Star Trek, which takes precedence over any other considerations and carries the highest moral obligation. My goal was this: survive, but if cancer beats me physically, it won\u2019t beat the business or defeat us in spirit. We are unified in purpose, which is bigger than any individual, including me. Once you have a goal like that, the emotional chaos begins to give ground to the logical work necessary to fill gaps as you pull back from duties.<\/p>\n

Accountability<\/h2>\n

Who will carry out your Prime Directive? Who\u2019s in this with you? I wish every cancer patient to have as worthy a \u201cright-hand man\u201d as I do in my husband. Each patient needs that special go-to person to be energized for you in carrying out the prime purpose. Can you identify that person and lean on them? Maybe it\u2019s a spouse, a best friend or a sibling. They need the truth, whether anyone else gets the full story. They need to understand where you are physically and emotionally. Otherwise, they won\u2019t be as helpful as you need.<\/p>\n

On the business side, go through a checklist: Are all of your business processes, contact information, and operational guidelines documented? Do bills, salaries and other financial obligations rest solely on your shoulders? If so, move quickly to find help. Do you have any legal loose ends to tie, such as a will, power of attorney, or any provisions for your business that need legal teeth? Do you let loyal customers know about your situation? If so, when? Transparency can foster understanding and patience from clients.<\/p>\n

Action<\/h2>\n

Every action should line up with your Prime Directive. Step one is to survive. In my case, this required surgery to remove a third of my tongue. Thankfully, I\u2019m cancer-free now, but the surgery resulted in severe nerve pain. I had to learn to eat and talk again, and I must use a lymphedema machine twice daily for the rest of my life. My energy took a severe hit. During treatment, allow yourself to choose your actions and don\u2019t feel constrained to one mindset. Some days, you may feel incapable of steering your brain to any work duties. On other days, business tasks can be a mental refuge.<\/p>\n

Arrival<\/h2>\n

The cancer diagnosis is a bomb dropped into your life, and emotional chaos comes with the territory. But as you work through assessing, finding your Prime Directive, establishing your team and taking action, you arrive at something else. You\u2019ve done what you can do. And that\u2019s all you can do. There\u2019s peace in letting go. There\u2019s also a paradoxical nature to some of our greatest tribulations. They are both dark and illuminating. Cancer takes you low, but it also shines a light on what\u2019s important: the fact that life is short and you need to make time for what you want to see and do. Cancer makes you mindful of what you have.<\/p>\n

Every day, so many people hear the six letters from the doctor\u2019s mouth, and the word falls to the floor, altering the planet\u2019s gravity for the recipient. That\u2019s why we stand together, helping each other bear the weight. It\u2019s how chaos gives way to calm. It\u2019s our Prime Directive.<\/p>\n

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anne Lackey is the co-founder of HireSmart Virtual Employees, a full-service HR firm helping others recruit, hire & train top global talent. When \u201ccancer\u201d drops from the doctor\u2019s lips, it\u2019s as if those six letters hit the floor and alter the planet\u2019s gravity, a new weight in everything. I was that patient. I\u2019m also a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16213","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-startups"},"yoast_head":"\nFive Steps Toward Order Amid The Post-Diagnosis Chaos | Brandiary<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anne Lackey is the co-founder of HireSmart Virtual Employees, a full-service HR firm helping others recruit, hire & train top global talent. 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