Unlocking success comes when you bounce out of your ‘rubber room’

“Unlocking Your Rubber Room — 44 Off-the-Wall Lessons, by Perry Binder, Langdon Street Press, $12.95.

Rubber room (n.): A confining mindset where thoughts and possibilities bounce around but never turn into actions. Lawyer-turned-business professor Perry Binder shows how education, negotiation skills and a basic understanding of law can help you straighten out workplace (and life’s) curves without bending the rules.

You may be inclined to let some of Binder’s 44 lessons bounce off the walls of your rubber room. Don’t. They make so much sense. Here are my favorites:

Lesson 3: In deal-making, make the other side feel like a hero. To-the-last nickel negotiating creates animosity. You might get this deal done, but you’ve destroyed the relationship groundwork needed for the next deals.

Lesson 9: Getting too lawyered up can leave you with nothing. While attorneys protect your legal rights, make sure yours understand the business side of your situation. An overly cautious and uninformed attorney can cause delays in business decisions that have limited windows of opportunity.

Lesson 17: Know the consequences of no regrets. In business and life, choices have to be made; risks have to be taken. Woulda-coulda-shoulda thinking keeps you from looking forward. That thinking also keeps you from properly assessing the risks (i.e. you look more at the downside than the upside) of your next choice.

Lesson 22: Just because you’re an expert doesn’t mean your opinion is right. The smartest person in the room adds to her/his expertise by exploring the “why” behind different perspectives.

Lesson 44: Find your light bulb moment. Your light bulb burns brighter when you turn on the bulbs of others. Binder’s L.I.G.H.T.B.U.L.B.: Listen to all learners; Inspire them with real world discussions; Give hope to everyone; Heap compliments on people for quality work; Teach to your strengths; Be available; Understand that people may lack your life experience, knowledge or perspective; Learn from your learners; Be willing to walk in anyone’s shoes.

Get out of your rubber room; turn possibility into reality.