One of my favorite stories in the area of change is about a husband and wife who are out shopping for clothes. The husband comes across a shirt that he really likes. He pulls the tag out and reads something that strikes his curiosity.
"Honey," he says, "The tag on this shirt says that it's shrink resistant. What does that mean?" His wife smiles and replies, "It means that the shirt will shrink, but it doesn't want to."
Over the years I've come to realize that many people are like that shirt when it comes to change. Oh, they'll change, but they don't want to. And leaders are just as guilty as those who follow them.
In fact, most leaders seem to drag their feet when it comes to change as much as everyone else, unless, the change happens to be their idea. What are you doing as a leader to overcome your own resistance to change, especially when that change will result in greater productivity and growth for both you and your organization?
One of the books that I'm working through right now is entitled, The Forgotten Half of Change. In this book, author De Brabandere, shares how change must occur twice in order for it to be effective and lasting.
The first type of change is the actual physical change that is necessary. The second type of change is our perception of the situation. For example, if we change our eating habits because we want to lose weight, that is the first type of change. But, if we fail to change our perception about food, portions, exercise, etc. -- our actions will fall back into our previous habits - wiping out the first type of change. It's an interesting book that I'm only a couple of chapters into. More information and review will follow.
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite quotations on change:
"Change itself is not progress, but change is the price that we pay for progress." - Clayton G. Orcutt
"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others." - Jacob M. Braude
"Change is successful when we can look back and call it growth." - Unknown
"Things do not change - we do." - Henry David Thoreau
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