All tagged Creating Change
I was having a conversation the other day about what it takes to drive change within a community and the person I was chatting with made an interesting point.
She said that people often think that, in order to shift behaviors, we need to focus on those who don’t believe and are diametrically opposed to our ideas.
Creating something new is a challenging task - so much so that many of us don't actually take the step to create whatever is that's in our head.
The reason, as I discuss in today's episode, is that we get caught up in two specific issues that stop us from taking those essential steps forward.
One of the most common conversations you’ll have, as someone who manages others, is the conversation about goal achievement.
That is, what will it take to achieve our goals? What needs to be in place for us to get there? It’s a good discussion (usually) that keeps all of us grounded on the practical steps that should be taken to enable us to get to where we want to go.
There’s a golden rule that applies in all aspects of our professional lives:
Look for agnostics, not atheists.*
An atheist is someone who is convinced that there is no God, while an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves that God exists.
That’s a meaningful difference in perspective.
Is comfort the enemy of innovation and growth?
It’s a constant pursuit, this pursuit of comfort, at so many levels. We long to be free of our problems and our issues, to achieve some sense of calmness in our lives.
A price of innovation and growth is criticism. If you’re intent on creating change in any material form, you have to expect it.
The simple fact is that the change you’re trying to create will result in some sort of displacement, both real and perceived, and it’s likely to come from many different areas.
A platform is a byproduct of success.
What I mean by that is that success in any given field results in not only the usual rewards (economic gain, career progression, industry recognition, etc.), it also provides us with a voice. We’re sought out by our community and those interested in, and impacted by, our work. They want to hear from us, and are ready to give us the opportunity to speak, to be heard.
It’s often referred to as the “defensive” strategy.
The sports team that emphasizes defense over offense i.e protecting their goal and stopping the other team from scoring.
Or the business that is focused on adding enough features to be able to ward off the competition.
Or the individual contributor who spends his time understanding and developing (i.e. copying) the skills of his nearest competitors.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I reflect on article I read about Lauryn Hill and the importance of creating art for yourself and not for anyone else. This is true of all truly great creators - not simply in the Arts but in business as well.
This month's podcasts delve into the seeds of entrepreneurship, where these crazy ideas come from and what they mean for us, as entrepreneurs.
In today's episode, I talk about ideas and how the great ones are - and should be - polarizing. They should engage or enrage, but nothing in between.
When you’re growing a business, it’s no surprise that you need friends who will advocate for you. I’ve relied on more than my fair share over the last 15 years as I’ve built the business - friends both outside the firm as well as within it - and they’ve been essential to the success that we’ve achieved.
A subset of these friends have gone above and beyond - they’ve truly put themselves out there for us. These are individuals who’ve (certainly in our early days) put their reputations on the line, or gone out of their way to help the firm, or given materially of their precious time to further our goals.
We all have ideas about where things should ideally be in our lives. Our work should look like this, or our political situation should operate like that. Our relationships should function in this particular way or our personal friendships should manifest themselves differently.
We tend to pore over what these idealized end-states ought to look like - often in excruciating and emotional detail. But getting “there” can be extremely difficult, a journey where the path is entirely uncertain or, worse, impossible to traverse.
Every so often, we see it.
That guy who worked in finance, then decided to leap into the world of books and online retailing, to start a successful enterprise.
Or that gal who went into the flower business -despite having no prior industry knowledge - and created a profitable, growing business in just a couple of years.
We tend to romanticize the path to success. We maintain this perception that getting there was a straight-forward path. Particularly when we see others achieve it. This view that these folks took step 1, then step 2, and so on and so forth, until they achieved what they set out to do. That it was a clean path. That things just happened for them.
The truth is…
There's a great quote that goes something like:
The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time.
This was echoed in a recent cartoon put out by the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company:
"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." (Lao Tzu)
We love stories. We love telling them. We love listening to them. We love creating them. We love being part of them. Stories define our lives and our experiences. They remind us of who we have been and help make us who we are. They also shape who we want to be.
"The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings." (Kakuzo Okakaura)
"A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it." (Chinese proverb)
Too often, when there is a change in our surroundings, our environment, our organization, or our personal lives - one that impacts the status quo in a material way, we can be at a loss as to how to react.
This is freedom. This is love for what you do. This is where your work is your art.
Thom Yorke’s performance is open and honest. He’s immersed in his art, his work. He’s not afraid of being vulnerable.
The point of protest is to make you uncomfortable. It's about upsetting the status quo. About changing the (perceived) complacency, inadequacy, inappropriateness of the current situation. It isn't meant to be pleasant. It isn't meant to be accommodating. It sure as fuck isn't meant to be polite.
The point of protest is to create discomfort. The point of pushing our boundaries is to break things, and, yes, to break through. The point of being different is to provoke an alternate reaction.
These discomforts, breakthroughs, reactions have a purpose. They are to topple the old order, to change our minds, to drive change.
