Change for the better

Warren Bennis, a highly respected authority in business leadership, describes in three points the kind of world we live in today:

1. We are living in a world of great upheavals;

2. We are living in a world of the acceleration of newness;

3. We are living in a world of disruptive technologies.

Our country has experienced all these changes. The question is, have those changes made us more competitive as a nation? Have those enabled us more to attain economic health and prosperity, and to improve the lives of our people?

Change is constant. But it is interesting to note that, while other countries debate about changes in technology or in industry, we continue to struggle with basic debates on the most effective way of curbing corruption and how to develop better citizenry. Television personality David Frost once said, “He turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed.” This should not be said of our country or our community.

Everything changes. Everyone changes. The question is, are we changing for the better or are we changing for the worse? (Or worse, for the worst?)

Think of the most basic questions you ask people from time to time:

1. Where is your home?

2. Where are you going?

3. What are you doing?

Notice how answers of just one person could change from 10 years ago, from five years ago, from last year and from six months ago.

Everything changes. Everyone changes. But then again, some people refuse to change. They fail to understand that their search for static security is not a guarantee for comfort and safety. It’s actually the most risky proposition they can hold on to. I like what Leo Tolstoy have to say: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

Behind almost every major change movement is the stubborn determination of a solitary person who dreams. Every great dream begins with a dreamer, they say. You have to be the change you want to see in the world, according Mahatma Gandhi.

Change is never easy. But it is extremely necessary. I watched and listened to the former chairman of General Electric Jack Welch last October in New York. He said some fascinating words that resonated within me. “Change before you have to,” he had said:

But how do we embrace change for the good? I would like to offer a few suggestions:

1. Believe that we can change. “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks” is not true. Ask animal behaviorists, and they will tell you that old dogs can still be trained. But you and I are not dogs. We are people God endowed with an intellect and a will. So all the more that we could change. The late Jim Rohn says, “If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”

2. Believe in a cause greater than yourself. People should be convinced that what they are working on is a worthy cause. You cannot force people to change as a matter of policy. But cause is greater than policy. I know of people who willingly died for a cause, but I have yet to hear of somebody who is willing to die for a policy.

3. Be a lifelong learner. You cannot believe in a vacuum. Neither can you disbelieve based simply on empty presumptions. When you do your homework, when you read, when you inquire and when you study, you gain more options for change. Eric Hoffener says it beautifully: “In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”

4. Execute excellently. Excellent people, as well as excellent organizations, do not believe in excellence alone. They are also in a constant state of improvement and change. In other words, they are not static. Fail they may, but they recover and never waiver in their standards of performance. They execute brilliantly. J. Paul Getty says: “In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy.” And in a world that is constantly changing, we can either stay where we are or continue learning.

Not every change is an improvement, but every improvement is a result of change. And we can never expect things to change and improve unless we ourselves change and improve.

Change is a friend. If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies. This is why God is in the constant business of change.

A blessed New Year to one and all!

(Develop your leadership skills with Francis Kong this January 19-20 at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel. Call Pam or Krisselle of Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115 for further details.)