Honor Change and Stability!
03/24/03
Marvin Wilson has a different take on what it takes to make a "Successful Minority:" "The Successful Minority...understand and accept the requirement for getting to the top as well as staying there. They never accept the premise of choosing a preference for change or stability. They make a more multivariable choice of both-and. That choice has a more inclusive premise. The issue for the Successful Minority isn't change or stability; it's change and stability. I call that a winner's choice because it treats risks differently. That type of choice creates a margin for gain in order to preserve some degree of stability."
As I have often found, the truth is often found in managing the tensions of change. To those who love stability and hate change, change is an annoying aberration that should be avoided if possible and defeated if necessary. To those who love change the past is an anchor that is keeping them from setting sail in pursuit of new lands of discovery. Resistance is to be overcome at all cost so that all anchors that hold them back can be severed. Good leaders don't put stability or change on a pedestal alone; they value both with equal honor. They hold on to what stability still gives their people solid ground while challenging all to soar on the wings of change that gives their vision flight. If you had to change everything, there would never be enough time to make the changes that are truly necessary. As a change agent, focus your change efforts where it counts. Honor both those who treasure stability and those who fight for change. Let both groups know that it is only in their lively interchange that needed changes will surface. Take time to honor the past, but never stop inventing the future. Do you have any "minority opinions" you need to honor and listen to this week?
A PAULSON QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Every improvement is the result of change. Not every change is an improvement. The past has value, but it can't have an automatic veto. The best leaders take the best from the past and the best from the future to keep reinventing the 'new good old days' for their organizations." --Terry L. Paulson, PhD, CSP, CPAE
MONDAY'S MIRTHFUL MOMENT
For your funny bones this week, "FUNNY THINGS FROM KIDS" from Eileen McDargh. Enjoy:
1. A new neighbor asked the little girl next door if she had any brothers and sisters. She replied, "No, I'm the lonely child."
2. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her father's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."
3. When my grandson, Billy, and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use, Grandpa. The mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."
4. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandma," he advised. "Mine says I'm four.
When you keep your eyes open for mirth, you just may find it! Hope this kicks off your morning and helps get your mood adjusted for the week. Now, get busy MAKING CHANGE WORK and have some fun along the way!...