4 Simple Truths About CHANGE

Lately, do you feel as though the entire system universe is working against you and your business?

Today's paradigm shift has been triggered by many factors; government, a shift in public policy, environmental concerns, global economic crisis...and what a whopper this one is! What's the bottom line? The rules of the game have changed.

As I see it there are 4 Simple Truths About Change...

1. Old strategies become useless. Experiencing a paradigm shift is like venturing into a cold, dense fog on the open sea. In one moment all that was once visible to you is replaced by uncertainty.  You cannot see what lies ahead or beside you and you are powerless to go back from where you came. The skills and strategies that gave you a sense of pride and accomplishment just weeks ago have now become questionable. Your very existence is suspended in a surreal state and your mind begins to fabricate it's own version of reality...to explain your circumstance and make sense of it all. As Charlie Brown so eloquently says, "Ahhhh!!!"

2. The human condition is engaged. Policy makers in government believe their decisions and actions are serving the greater good. Those of us in business tend to think that government is intentionally throwing more hurdles in our path.  In reality the emotional reactions, fears and frustrations we experience are not reserved solely for us. Reaction is triggered in everyone clinging to the old paradigm. The tighter you cling, the worse you feel.

3. It's like a turbulent sea that heaves us off our intended course. You may think that others around you have greater stability...when in fact their experience may be strikingly similar to your own.  In the face of risk and vulnerability we tend to become inwardly focused. Our nature is to form assumptions and expectations of what can and cannot be achieved.  When others fail to meet our expectations, animosity builds, tempers ignite, introverts withdraw and important relationships deteriorate.  Without conscious intention we segregate into camps of "us" and "them". Reconciliation of our differing perspectives appears futile, frustrating and pointless. This is the world of survival...the downward spiral...reaction mode at its finest.

When you look at your situation through the radar a new perspective comes into view. There's a pattern here...with grid lines and everything! Your course becomes clearer...the fog begins to lift. Here, have a look. Can you see your location?

4. New skills and strategies must quickly be developed.  The new measure of leadership and managerial skill is about anticipating the future and boldly venturing into the realm of the unknown with intentionality. No longer willing to stay adrift you set out to chart your course. Those who have developed a competency to embrace change find it thrilling and adventurous to be on this cutting edge. They understand that new opportunities must be created. In times of change risk IS the only certainty. Now is the perfect time to redefine one's self and bid farewell to complacency, denial, resistance and procrastination in favour of new empowering skills:

• foresight
• strategy
• creativity
• resilience
• intuitive wisdom
• continuous action, and
• exceptional communication skills 

These are the skills to practice, refine and master in the 21st century...we're back to the basics. It's not rocket science. It's who we're being and how we handle our inner voice in the face of challenge and uncertainty that really determines how the future turns out.

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NOW is the best time to re-engineer your future.  A professional athlete would never think of competing without a coach. In tough economic times can you afford not to have a coach?  

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 * The image of the New Measure of Managerial Skill is from page 27 of Joel Arthur Barker's book Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future.