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Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, said, “Change before you are forced to.” As an entrepreneur, he understood that his competitors were constantly innovating. Failure to change always comes at our peril.
However, mastering change is so complex that Alan Deutschman, in his book Change or Die, says that in a life-and-death condition, only 10% of people will make the necessary adjustments to save their lives.
This shocking statistic, taken from a survey among critical heart patients in the US, also affects businesses, individuals, and organizations. The biggest obstacle to mastering change management is changing your perspective. Here are a few ways to help you make change happen.
This secret formula is available in many personal development and business self-help books. It implies that it’s not the event that matters but your response to it that determines its outcome.
You may be wondering how to use this formula to your advantage in the change management process. Well, one thing you can do, as exemplified by the formula, is to find various ways to disrupt that immediate instinctive heuristic response (R) to the event (E) and implement a new system that will potentially give you a better outcome (O).
For example, we had the Covid-19 pandemic, which is an event. The uncontrolled response was that lockdowns were enforced, and the outcome was that some businesses had to halt transacting while others folded up altogether.
But quite surprisingly, a few other companies thrived and blossomed during this period as they found a way to meet the changing needs of society then.
As World War 2 reached its zenith, Allied commanders faced a significant crisis of low morale and desertions within their ranks.
Psychologists sent by the general command to investigate these phenomena were staggered at the findings. Soldiers most vulnerable to desertion were not those in dangerous close combat battles but those in their dugouts under instructions to hold the line.
The reason was quite evident. These troops lived in dread of attacks, but they couldn’t do anything to change the situation. They knew change would hit them, but their order was to hold on. Every day, they were plagued by fear and stagnation.
Just like those soldiers holding the line, when faced with change, our first impulse is to brace ourselves and confront the situation in a fight-or-flight mode. Consequently, we can become rigid and bent on holding the line in order not to become vulnerable.
However, vulnerability is actually a desired quality that comes from confidence and maturity and spearheads change management. Although it exposes our fears, we gain the courage to deal with challenges as they arise.
As you navigate through the rollercoaster of this life, you often look at images and create your story.
The narrative you buy from others or the one that you tell yourself usually becomes your reality. Jim Rohn once famously said, “You are the average of the five people you spend most time with.”
When handling change, nothing gives you more comfort than having people with whom you can share your doubts and fears—mentors and friends who will listen and cheer you on to be the best version of yourself.
Keep at bay dramatic people who seem always to attract chaos in your change management process. Worse still, they can’t elevate themselves and want to drag you down.
Heraclitus said that “change is the only life’s constant.” Mastering change isn’t just a one-time decision but a continuous dedication to growing and self-improving yourself. Regard change as your best friend and allow it to lead you to an extraordinary life ahead.
