Most of us have had the displeasure of feeling that the vultures are circling. From the movies, we can visualize a cowboy struggling in the desert in search of water, barely alive. He looks up into the scorching sun and he sees vultures circling above him. Imagining that they’re waiting for him to die, he curses the vultures and tells them to go find another meal.

If you’ve hit a rough spot in your business or your organization, there are things that you can do to get back on track and not feel as though the vultures are circling. Let’s face it, in business and in life, there are those who act like vultures. A little part of them, or a big part, would love to see you crash and burn, to botch your landing, to come up short, and struggle through the agony of defeat. Hearing your bad news is good news for them.

Back to our scavenging bird of prey, the vulture isn’t known for its natural beauty. Vultures in our lives may have the same tendency, but more on the inside than the outside. Jealousy and envy are key thoughts for the day and your stumble and fall are a huge boost for them. And guess what, just like there have been and will always be vultures in the wild, you’ll always have them near in life as well. But in the spirit of cursing the vultures, let’s look at some steps that you can take.

Step 1: Assess the Situation

First of all, if you sense or see the vultures circling, quickly assess why that’s happening. How do you look? How do you carry yourself? What kind of attitude do you exude? Do you come across as a positive successful individual or a negative excuse maker with a defeated attitude?

If you’re the latter, you’ve already made your bed, so you need to get out of it quickly. Get your chin off of your chest, straighten your back and get your shoulders up. Vultures love to see you moping!

Step 2: Take inventory of what you’ve got going for you

Even in the darkest of times, there will be something that you can look at from a positive standpoint. After all, you’ve got you…and you’re looking at the green side of the grass, not 6 feet under looking at the roots. Write these items down and make a list. Wear out your pen scratching out your items. Just making a list of them will start to change your attitude.

Step 3: Take Action

Write down what you can do immediately to right your ship and get it headed towards your destination. What are the key activities that you can perform starting today or tomorrow, that will help you turn your results around? Once you’ve got those laid out, take action and execute day in and day out and you’ll find yourself in the middle of a turnaround without a single vulture in sight.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you. Just remember the immortal words in Monty Pythons the Holy Grail, “I’m not dead yet” and keep fighting the fight!

To your Success!