A630.6.4.RB - 50 Reasons Not to Change/The Tribes We Lead_WitteWilliam

After viewing the above presentations, reflect on the following questions in a well-written post on your Reflection Blog.

• How do you react when you hear colleagues using some of the excuses listed in the 50 Reasons Not to Change graphic?

     Honestly, I wish the second question in this exercise had been asked first.  When I hear colleagues use excuses like this, it really only bothers me when their "hold-fastedness" prevents me from getting something done myself or gets in the way of mission accomplishment.  Otherwise, I am rarely annoyed by excuses such as this (partially because I probably use a great many of them).  The one that gets to me the most is the concept of "it is not possible."  Personally I like to succumb to the old adage that anything is possibly but not everything.  This pushes me to do and accomplish things that others would not even imagine. 

• Do you ever use any of these excuses yourself?

     As stated above, I certainly use many of the excuses listed in the presentation as rationale for why not to change.  The truth is that I am greatly opposed to change.  Change makes me sad.  I try to live fully in each moment and for that reason it is especially hard to give things up.  When I do change, it is either the result of necessity or because things out of my control have changed around me.  Otherwise I attempt to avoid change as much as possible (if not entirely), even to my own detriment.  Unfortunately, change is constant and in this rapidly changing world I must learn to change along with it or be swept away with the flotsam.

• How can you overcome the thinking that creates those responses to change efforts?

     I think the biggest thing that I must to is not only accept but embrace change.  If I remove the barriers within my mind that prevent me from liking and/or adapting to change, then I will be half-way to embracing it.  This will be key to my success in the future.  Another way to overcome these responses to change would be to realize that change can be good.  Bringing about change can lead to new possibilities for yourself, your fellows, and the company.  The sky is truly the limit when it comes to where change may take you.

• Do you agree with Seth Godin’s concept that change is driven by tribes?

     I am not certain that I entirely agree with this.  For one, as stated above, change is constant.  It happens whether or not its caused by a "tribe" or if we want it to occur.  Additionally, my understanding from the video was that "tribes" are a new concept brought about by the internet age.  It may be true that modern tribes bring about change, but surely this has not always been the case.  The irony of it all is that as we become increasingly interrconnected, we also become increasingly fragmented.  As trends may spread from one tribe to another, change then occurs as a result.

• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

     The biggest take-away for me that is of use to both my career and within my personal life is that change may be a good thing.  In fact, failure to change and adapt reflects a failure on my own part that could hurt me professionally and personally.  I will work harder to overcome my baser resistance to change and realize that I may effectively utilize coalitions of tribes to spread desired change.