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Changes

As we grow older we inevitably think about change. Change in our bodies, in our minds, in our expectations of ourselves and in other people's perceptions of us. In a real sense, of course, change is inevitable. Our bodies are always mutating as cells reproduce and die. Our relationships are always modifying as we learn more about each other and as we grow together or grow apart. Our world is always evolving; it is weathered, eroded, impacted upon and torn asunder by seismic activity. It has been icy cold and steamy hot. Creatures come and creatures go. One day the Earth will be swallowed whole by a giant Sun. Our universe is constantly expanding until one day...well...who knows?

If we cannot arrest change, it follows that it is futile to fear it. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating a laissez-faire approach to all change. To simply shrug your shoulders and say, "Que sera, sera" flirts with the demon of indifference. Far better to look change in the eye and to learn how it may be channelled for good.

Change in organisations is always a thorny issue. It is catalyst to more negativity and grumbling than almost anything else. With tongue in cheek, I offer the following insight:

Institutional change usually goes something like this. In the first year it is met by protest. The second year brings grudging acceptance. In the third year, it becomes tradition. In the fourth year, it is a much-valued tradition, and by the fifth year we have always done it that way!

28 April 2008

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