MASTER Risk Model - Learning Resources - Mindset

Cognitive Adaptability

Read a retail trend you normally dismiss—summarize its strongest insight in one sentence.

Pause and ask: “What’s another way to see this?” when reacting strongly to a business challenge.

Choose one process today to do differently—change the order, method, or tool you normally use.

Read something from a different industry—note one idea you could apply to your retail business.

Challenge your default choice in a low-stakes task—try the opposite to stretch flexibility.

Use the phrase “That’s interesting—tell me more” when someone challenges your thinking.

Emotional Adaptability

When stressed, pause and name the feeling—labeling it reduces its control over your actions.

Use a grounding question during stress: “What emotion am I feeling, and is it helping right now?”

Replace a reactive message to staff, partners, or customers with a calmer one—pause to edit first.

Repeat: “I choose how I respond” before entering a tense discussion with staff or vendors.

Smile or breathe deeply before responding to frustrating news—reset your emotional tone.

Do a quick body scan during pressure—what emotion is stored in your shoulders, neck, or chest?

Behavioral Adaptability

In your next team or vendor meeting, change your usual style—speak less if you dominate, more if you usually don’t.

Adjust one recurring routine in your operations—notice what happens when you break the pattern.

Choose to observe an entire conversation before speaking—adapt to the group’s rhythm before you join.

Say yes to something you’d normally decline—try it and note what happens.

Try a different feedback style today—if direct, use inquiry; if soft, be clearer and firmer.

Work in a new location or setting for half a day—track how it shifts your focus and behavior.

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