“Survival is optional. No one has to change.” W. Edwards Deming
Years ago, I was sharing with a friend about work-related challenges I was facing. I was trying to make changes at the company I was working for, which had specifically hired me “to help” them in new and different ways. To my frustration, I was meeting with tremendous resistance to seemingly everything I proposed, hence venting to my friend, Jay Hidalgo of The Barzel Group (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayhidalgo/). Jay said, “Marc, almost everyone wants help, they just don’t want to change.”
His insight stunned and saddened me because I knew he was right. Not only was I experiencing resistance to change but I also realized there were more than a few times in my own life where I wanted help – lose weight, exercise more, be a better husband/father, pray and read my bible more, be more patient and selfless, etc., etc., but what was I actually doing that was different to produce the change I desired.
Second law of Thermodynamics and business (and marriage) entropy
We observe and experience that everything trends from order to disorder -energy, systems, relationships – unless there are intentional efforts to maintain and/or reverse the direction. I recently heard the analogy that working on your marriage – pursuing order / unity – is like paddling upstream in a river, and the minute you stop paddling, you immediately begin drifting downstream towards disorder / disunity / discord / division.
The same is true in business. Does everyone know which direction is upstream? Do they know how they individually contribute to order/success? Do they know how or where to get help to make appropriate changes? Are they encouraged and empowered to experiment with changes for improvement? How do you celebrate and share learning from failed changes? How do you celebrate and share learning from successful changes?
“How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly” Earnest Hemmingway
Is that not how it feels when we realize we are not where we want to be? How did I get here? Working 80+ hours a week, profit margins shrinking, sales declining, skipping family and community time, not taking vacation, no exercise, unwanted weight gain, no margin for life.
There is never time to learn to eat healthily, exercise, read, relax, rest, reflect. But we must make time when we get ill or worse. A business is an organism and needs similar attention and care to thrive.
“This is perhaps the single most important point in all of Good to Great. Greatness is primarily not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is primarily a matter of conscious choice and discipline.” P. 31 Good to Great and The Social Sectors, Jim Collins, 2005, Harper Business
Get busy changing or get busy dying.
“Change is frightening. It may comfort you to know that if you are afraid, you are possibly on the right road- the road to change and growth. One businessman I know says that if he is not totally frightened at some point in every day, he is not stretching himself far enough. He is very successful at what he does.” p. 287 Boundaries, Dr.’s Henry Cloud & John Townshend, 2017, Zondervan
In the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”, the character Andy Dufrene states, “I guess it comes down to a simple choice really – get busy living or get busy dying”.
Thriving and not just surviving in business comes down to a “simple” choice really – get busy changing, or you are choosing to get busy dying – gradually, then suddenly.
I can help you and your business find and implement changes for thriving with empathy, but also with the cold-hearted, soulless clarity of a recovering finance guy. 😊
This blog was written without AI assistance other than MS Editor and edits from Katherine Nyboer https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinenyboer/. The image is AI generated.