Change or die. Right? That’s what we hear. We hear it all the time. The old motto was – “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”. The new motto is – “if it’s not broke, break it and make it better”.
I don’t know about all that. Sounds good in theory – sure. I just don’t have the personal experiences to validate that assertion.
But I do know this – change is hard. Sometimes it feels like moving mountains.
I just finished Jack Welch’s book titled Winning. One of the chapters is devoted to change and how important it is to be a manger/leader that provokes change and inspires change. He goes further in talking about how you need to surround yourself with champions that support change and remove the resistors.
Again, I don’t know about all that. Don’t get me wrong, Welch’s book has been a rich read. His stuff may work and it may work extremely well, I just do not have a grid for running a Fortune 500 company like GE.
Here’s what I do know. I am in the business of changing paradigms. Changing patterns. Changing behaviors. Changing habits. Thanks to my friend Zach, I have the privilege of delivering leadership training to sixty managers of a local company every week.
The leadership training we are delivering is going fantastic. Every week, Zach and I walk out of the training room trying to figure out why these groups are so engaging. So energetic. So enjoyable to train. We have been trying to come up with a formula for why some training sessions are better than others. We’ve had about one-hundred conversations trying to identify the factors in what makes the training so good. Together, we concluded that it will be impossible to come up with a fool-proof formula for this kind of thing, but I am confident that we recognized one of the absolutes in the formula.
Their names are Ed and Patrick. On Tuesday the formulated solution is Patrick. On Thursday it is Ed. You don’t know these people, but I wish you did. They are champions.
Here is why these two gentlemen are so important to the development of this particular local company. They are champions of change. They have the positive energy to take this new content and apply it. That kind of energy is contagious. Not only that, but they are passionate. They make the changes themselves and come back and share the benefits of their behavior shifts. What’s more, they do it all with an optimistic countenance and zeal. Ed and Patrick are well-respected leaders on their teams and their leadership voice goes a long way.
In business, in training, and in life – we all need to surround ourselves with CHAMPIONS. We must partner well, especially if we are going to make positive changes in our lives.
Your change may be to read the Bible more. Or establish a consistent prayer life. Maybe your change is to get to the gym every-day. It could be dietary. Perhaps your change is to read a leadership book once a month. Whatever it is for you, surround yourself with people like Ed and Patrick – champions that inspire others and encourage positive shifts.
When you do – you will be able to move mountains.
-CK