Tag: change agent

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Why change is so hard

There are very few of us that embrace change. We know that it makes people nervous and frustrated. Article after article affirms that. Yet if we’re honest, we will admit it is inevitable. Just why is change so hard?

Spear 3974

When I sketched this idea, I observed people about twenty years older than me resisting texting. Nine years later, many of that generation has accepted texting as just another form of communication. Time marches on!

Change is a deceptively difficult thing. We have no problem finding reasons that it is so. Even when everyone agrees changes need to be made, reform is hard. People may disagree on why and how the alterations need to be made. They may even disagree how much and how sweeping a change needs to be. It just isn’t an easy thing!

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motivation

One step from irrelevance

broken car by the tree
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com

This article by Evans Baiya in Fast Company reminded me that we are one step from irrelevance.

Either we will be the catalyst for innovation or resist it. While change is hard for many of us, it is powerful. But many don’t like any change. We’d just as soon let the car get filthy and let nature take its course.

Cartoon of a man an woman staring at a car. The man says, "I can't wash it now and destroy life! There's sprouts growing in the dirt."

We can resist change and pay a price, or we can be innovators and reap the benefits of being part of the solution. Change is happening. Do you embrace it, or are you one step from irrelevance?

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motivation

Change Comes When You Accept Responsibility

Cartoon of a dog retrieving a laptop

The other day, I had a conversation with two people at different times in the same organization.

One said, “Things aren’t the way they used to be!” And I suppose they are right. Things always change. I’ve also noticed our perceptions change over the years. We look at the past as the good old days no matter how hard or brutal they were.

The other person said to me, “Oh, that’s just the way things are here! It’s always been that way. They’ll never change!” Wait a minute! They can’t both be right. Either things have changed or they never have. They were both looking at some challenges, but had two very different perspectives.

Yet, both views had a few things in common.

  • They were frustrated and didn’t see a solution
  • They weren’t taking responsibility for a solution
  • They decided the challenges were someone else’s problem

As a person who has worked in publishing, I’ve seen many changes. I have also seen businesses that have had trouble adjusting to change. Newspapers are a big example of that. I get that the glory days of newsprint are gone. And it’s just not the same.

Cartoon of a dog retrieving a laptop

But at a certain point, organizations (which are the people within an organization) must change. The past is gone. We need to deal with the present, not live in the past.

At the same time, if a challenge has always been in an organization, it is the responsibility of each person to change for the better. Everyone has the ability to grow, adapt and improve. When each person accepts that responsibility, businesses, and organizations grow with the new and improved workforce.

We can all be change agents. Let’s make it happen!