One way to deal with organizational problems and personal setbacks in the workplace is to practice strategic thinking: make a clear goal on how you can take this negative situation and make something positive out of it.

Strategic thinking is something we often did as children because back then it felt like we lived in a world of negatives (don’t do that, no you can’t have that, etc.). Being at the end of the line when power was handed out in the family, we had to learn how to work around adult obstacles without getting in trouble for going too far.

Here’s an example of how you as a child could have done some strategic thinking:

Imagine yourself as a child, after an afternoon of hard play, waiting with your best friend and several of your other friends for a fruit snack from your best friend’s mother. Each friend receives their own special fruit: cherries, peaches, grapes, and apricots.  You are happy to get your fruit (because after all this is your best friend’s mother giving out the goodies) — that is, until your bowl of lemons arrives.

You have two choices: you can take the obvious one and feel sorry for yourself as you come to the painful truth that your best friend’s mother doesn’t like you too much and ignore your bowl of lemons. Or, you can think strategically, and take your bowl of lemons home and make a pitcher of lemonade and sell glasses of it to your thirsty friends.

Lemon disasters come with life and sadly they can become common in the workplace, particularly doing times of organizational stress. Effective leaders understand that disasters are opportunities, however. They understand that every crisis presents an opportunity to make important changes.

As a manager or business owner, you have to lead your team. You have to lead them to the table to help you make lemonade from the latest bowl of lemons you’ve come upon. The best way to deal with organizational problems and personal setbacks in the workplace is to think about them strategically.

You do this be asking yourself the following:

• What positive outcome can I make happen from this situation?

Now, if your first answer to this question is that there is no positive outcome, give yourself a break from strategic thinking. After giving yourself a break to calm your emotions, ask yourself the question again. As you do this, you’ll revive that strategic thinking ability we all have from childhood.

Here’s how this could work for you in your workplace:

• A budget reduction is an opportunity to eliminate work, renegotiate business terms with vendors, or lobby others in the organization to eliminate outdated processes.
• A layoff is an opportunity for you to complete your education, change your career, or simplify your life.
• The loss of a key customer is a chance for you to evaluate your products and services, obtain support in your organization for more resources, or change how your unit completes its work.

Lemonade doesn’t just happen. It’s strategic thinking that leads us to turn sour lemons into sweet lemonade.