My Frozen Shoulder

I went to the orthopedist today because I’ve been having pain in my shoulder. Well actually the pain started a few months ago but I wrote it off to age and overuse towards the end of the last golf season. I figured it would get better with rest. Not so much. In fact, there are times when I reach for something on a shelf and a little man with an ice pick plays Toccata and Fugue on my shoulder. It’s not healing. I guess the reluctance to hit the MD is related to not wanting to ask for directions when lost – an inherent stubbornness and a desire not to seem weak.
In any event, I went to the sports doc who informed me I have a frozen shoulder. Basically, its a big loss in one’s range of motion and can become pretty serious if not treated. Oh boy!
Of course, this got me thinking about business since part of what’s going on is that I’m not using the complete range of motion due to the pain certain movements cause.

You’ve probably got a similar situation going on with some of the business skills you’ve had over the years. Something is painful so you don’t do it. Then, suddenly, you find you can’t. Or maybe your enterprise doesn’t want to deal with certain clients – they cause pain – and then, when you need to be able to deal with them, you can’t.

I can get this “unstuck” through exercise.  You can get your business unstuck the same way – by trying things that are uncomfortable and by pushing everyone to use their full range of motion – their full set of skills – at all times.  If you don’t think there’s atrophy in your organization, you’re not looking.

The good news is that this won’t interfere with my golf swing and the good news for you is that your adhesions can be broken too.

And now, I have a date with some ibuprofen.  What are you doing to fix your situation?