Here are some sample blogs from my previous E4C excursion, Summer 2003. I and my co-founders are working towards a 'standard' format for all E4C authors to comfortably work within.
Here you go.
July 4th - Independence Day
Casting off on our new journey
If you're reading this, chances are you're in the painful process of meaningful change, and looking for help ... either way, let me start you off with this thought: successful living depends (or should we say deepends!) upon successful management of change - inside or outside an organisation.
And successful change, of yourself, others, or both, is about understanding and managing the flow of energy. When energy gets blocked, things go wrong. When energy flows, we're in the zone, as the tennis pro's say. And things move forward for us.
A couple of grenades though ... We don't have anywhere near full control of the energy around and inside us - we can at best influence it, and often the best course is to let go, and see where we end up.
Only we can do this. This is the job of our life.
July 5th
Our motivations for change
How do we recognise when positive energy for change is there, and when it's not?
The first step here is towards a more honest relationship with our inner selves and our environments. Change can never usefully occur on a base of sand, and honesty provides the necessary foundation. Let's not forget however that - certainly from an organisational point of view - our predictable (and of course very human) discomfort with change is heightened when we are confronted with uncomfortable information about ourselves. Many a project has foundered on these rocks!
Here's one outlook: I try to be completely honest with myself, and as honest as I feel I realistically can be with others. And we also need to try to stay in touch with our motivations, in particular in our dealings with others. What are we REALLY driving at?
July 6th
The discipline of meditation
Meditation - even of the most humble form - is a useful tool in change. I sometimes just sit and try not to think. While this does not always produce the result I may desire, I almost invariably come away with some clarity about one or more issues that were previously confused, and feeling a little more focused and positive.
But the price of this calm and clarity is sometimes an intermediary series of panicky feelings - often squashed down fears, uncertainties or resentments, that are at first uncomfortable and bewildering.
We do well to stay with them and move through them, however, for they frequently conceal the nugget of insight that we prize, and even if not, we still need to move through them, to both let go of them (this stuff is poison for change energy, after all), and to gain some benefit from the time invested in the meditation.
July 7th
Clarity about our desired direction
Change is occurring, whether we like what we see or not. Whether we stay in bed, run a marathon, or just do a half-decent day's work, everything's changing. What we're looking for here is improvement - change in the general direction of doing things better.
What do we mean by better here? One man (or woman's) ceiling is another man's floor, after all. Taking the question a level deeper then, what we I think mean by better is: what takes us closer, and enables us to stay closer, to the realisation of our goals, as both determined and guided by our declared values.
So, before we start running about, we need to get some clarity around this. Where are you looking to go, why, and how will you know how you're doing along the way?
July 8th
Managing our key asset
Why it it that so often when the pressure's on, the first person we let down is ourselves - a bit like killing the golden goose. Just like an engine or a key player - which is what we are - we MUST take care of ourselves before anything else. This means food, rest, entertainment, time with family and friends and so on. It can also mean solitude, sometimes the most healing and sustaining thing of all.
Funnily enough, this can feel like self-indulgence ... don't fall into that trap! This is the most responsible, fundamental change action we can take, and of course it's the sine qua non of top performance.
So, balance your focus with self-care ... I love that quote about "Nobody ever looked back at the end of their life, and said 'I just wish I'd spent more time at the office.'"
July 9th
Keeping our ears open for the next lesson
Thoughts on pushing for change, as opposed to letting it happen. Naturally, it takes a bit of both, to effect any kind of change impact, which I sometimes call "traction" (where the tyres really engage with the road and we feel some serious movement).In both personal and business life, we need to maintain a flexible attitude, and try to pick our moments with care.
Nevertheless, one rule that's emerged for me over the years, experiencing the exhilaration of success, the depression that follows failure, and - not to be underestimated - the sometimes long periods in between, where nothing seems to happen at all, is this: if my efforts are being consistently frustrated, there's something to be learned from that apparent blockage. It doesn't mean that we're wrong, that we're stupid or failures. It's just not going our way for the moment ...
What's the message? Are we hearing it? When the road gets clearer - and there's no guarantee when or how that will happen for us - and we connect with the reality of the scenario plus our own reation to that, it becomes an awful lot easier to know when to push harder, or just go home and try again tomorrow!
July 10th
The Old Tapes
Of all influences - and they can be either dramatically positive or negative - on our progress in personal or organisational change, I believe that our core beliefs about ourselves are the most powerful and difficult to spot.
This is what some professionals call "the old tapes", and for many of us they're so old that we ceased hearing them decades ago. But they continue to exert their influence ... "It's time for me (or us) to move on, and I'm ready and able to take on the challenge. I deserve this improvement, and what I have been through to date has been ample preparation." Or, "Whenever I try something new, I always screw up. I'm clearly not worth it."
These may seem extreme examples. But the vocabulary and tone of our old tapes are each surprisingly emotive! "You STUPID fool! Look what you've done!" Or, "You CLEVER person! You are so creative!" Sound familiar? Perhaps because they are, I believe frequently, the voices of the significant others of our past, those on whom we depended for our worldview, while we were in the process of figuring out the world and ourselves.
Can we draw upon these voices for strength during the challenge and profound uncertainty of deep change? Or must we perhaps find the strength and courage to challenge them, and refine or indeed rebuild from scratch these subtle, fundamental messages?
July 11th
Staying balanced with our focus
Focus is tricky. When we're in transition - just like explorers in a strange land - we become, understandably, distracted quite regularly. Sometimes, it just a matter of refocusing, getting back on track. Other times, we become unfocused because our previous focus is becoming outgrown, and the the discomfort of that loss of direction becomes the motivator for the evolution and adoption of our next focus.
You can see that awareness, flexibility and patience are all critical here. But all the same (while everyone needs a break sometimes) lack of focus soon becomes a luxury that, if we're honest, we can't afford.
And we get on with it.
July 12th
Shame, the quiet enemy of change
Writing this blog is, in itself, an important change for me. I'm struck by how exposed - and on a bad day, even ashamed - I feel about putting these well-intentioned and I think generally useful and well-expressed thoughts out to the world.
I worry about quality, I worry about seeming absurd, I worry that I'm not qualified to do this. I worry that you won't like it, and then that you'll come to resent E4C. Those old messages don't go away just because I want them to.
This is, for me, a courageous step, and while not wishing to be cheesy, I think I need to practice what I preach and take a little credit here! E4C will never be perfect, it can't be all things to all men. As long as my only aspiration is to offer (whether it's needed or wanted, even at all welcome, every day by every reader is irrelevant) insight, inspiration and encouragement to those individuals who also need support and courage in the pursuit of their own chosen goals, then I'm doing a good thing that has value.
July 13th
The 7th day
Declaring a day of rest is one of the most courageous actions we can take in the process of change.
Many of our best ideas and inspirations come to us when we're not looking, just waiting. Perhaps thinking of other matters altogether. And of course, tiredness, especially mental tiredness, is the worst state in which to face a challenge.<
And finally, unbalanced change is, I find, the most difficult to sustain (just as, we're told, extreme food diets both exhaust the person and almost guarantee eventual failure). If change is being attempted at the (consistent) expense of other life or business priorities, it can undermine the basics.
Why courageous? Because when our focus and identity are wrapped around a program of change , our self-worth can sneak in too, and we can become quietly addicted, as it were, to progress. Pulling back, becoming human again, takes confidence and good sense. I believe that we must apply the same discipline and determination to regularly NOT trying, as we do to our most passionate efforts.
July 14th - Bastille Day
Perspective, passion and progress
How easy, on this particular day, to issue a sermon about being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for one's beliefs, great change leaders of the past ...
Nevertheless, there is a point worth making today. Our passion, our positive energy, need acknowledgement and nurturing to fuel our program of change. The excitement of change is one of our rewards, our motivations for staying with it. Why not take a moment to remind ourselves what this is all about, why we're doing what we're doing, and to reflect on where we were a short time ago. I'm often surprised at how much progress has been made: in particular, the differences between my outlook and attitude only months ago and today are striking.
So, change may not always be dramatic in the short term, but if we look carefully, we'll be impressed, reassured, and energised.
July 15th
Waiting for the signal
Are we waiting for other people to give us permission to change? If we are, there's a long wait ahead.
No substantial change - personal or organisational - is achieved without some resistance: it almost defines the challenge.
Other people's disapproval may need to be ackowledged and adjusted for. Our partners, co-workers and bosses, our children, even our neighbours, all have opinions and needs. Otherwise, let's move on, and stop waiting for the world's seal of approval to arrive - it never will.
July 16th
The power of commitment
Yesterday we looked at the issue of the approval of others. Today, let's look at our own drive. Sometimes there's nothing for it but to push on, even though we feel demotivated, confused, or without clear direction.
I find that there's something about commitment that's magical. First of all - and this is the tough thing to accept - we can't have it both ways. We need to close the door on the past before the door to the next stage opens. But when we make the commitment, move forward with focus and conviction, the world rewards our efforts like no others. The act of commitment (after, of course, we have done our best to consider or, if need be, reconsider our options) may contain fear and uncertainty, but is almost always followed by greater progress with greater clarity.
Paradoxically, it is commitment that shows us where to go next.
July 17th
Taking change hostages
It's probably already evident that not every one of our colleagues or family will come along on the change ride without a struggle.
But can't they see? Don't they get it? That's the problem, perhaps. They don't see, and they don't get it - at least not yet. Usually because they're not ready to.
First of all, we need to remember that it's OK to proceed with our change program without everyone cheerleading from the sidelines. And second, while none of us can condone deliberately obstructive behaviour, a default attitude of respect for the points of view of others, and their need to move on their own terms in their own time, is, I believe, essential. This attitude at least leaves the door open for future change. And we can, in the meantime, move respectfully ahead.
July 19th
Looking after the basics
Why should we focus on boring fundamentals when we're wrapped up in the wonderful world of change! More than anything, this is about the old business of operating with a clear desk. Clutter (and I'm writing this with a horribly cluttered desk, so don't imagine I'm evangelising from a holier-than-thou place here ...) saps energy and focus.
We free up change energy when we return - albeit without great enthusiasm - this is not after all what we love - to the basics and just sort them out to the best of our ability. We never (at least, I never ...) get right to the end of the list of chores. But we know - don't we? - when we're more or less on top of the basics.
We know because we're lighter, more focused, and readier for the next challenge.
July 20th
The bigger home team
From Machiavelli to Marcus Aurelius, the thinkers agree that change is the most natural and the toughest thing for human beings to handle. And Machiavelli goes further - perhaps unsurprisingly - to point out the often invidious role of the change leader.
Our home team needn't be restricted to those around us - colleagues, family and so on. We can draw encouragement, inspiration and experience from the words of those who've gone before - philosophers, warriors, survivors, leaders and followers, mothers and fathers, scientists, philanthropists ... We need - especially in challenging times when the rewards of success and recognition are absent - to use role models (of our choice, no one else's) and stories, to steady us and keep us in motion.
July 21st
The hard work of play<
Play? What? No time for that sort of silliness!
To both reward and refresh ourselves and our energy for change, we need to identify and regularly practice the things that make us feel good to be alive. It's almost essential that these should be activities that categorically do not contribute directly to our work. We don't clock in for this stuff.
This sounds like frivolity, and perhaps it is. But let me share something: when I began taking these "time outs" it was in the course of working a program called "The Artist's Way" (which I recommend highly, by the way - it's impacted my creativity and authenticity consistently in the several years since I did it.)
My chosen time out was to take 2 hours out of work weekly to go and see a quality film: I used to do this typically on a Friday after 3.00 pm. I enjoyed it immensely, but here's what was most revealing ... coming out of the cinema into early evening sunshine after my first time out, I felt sad, angry, insecure and guilty.
Why was this? I think because I'd been using my work to block some very painful feelings that had built up over the weeks, and the 2 hours off had broken the cycle and let them loose. Painful, yes, but extremely valuable, and also creativly freeing. I'd been working with a secret bag of rocks strapped to my back, if you like.
A change may be as good as a rest. But rest and recreation are powerful contributors to our change. They need our earnest attention.
July 22nd
Waiting for the tide to turn
Recently I experienced an awful lot of frustration and confusion regarding my own future direction. Everything I tried - and I tried hard - seemed destined for the wastebasket. Finally, I just keeled over, and admitted that I simply had no idea where to go next. I was frightened, angry and humiliated ... If I'm so smart, why can't I think my way through this?
A fragmented (on my side), negative and rather hopeless discussion with my wife that evening led - entirely unexpectedly - to a new view of the problem, an exciting potential solution, and a rush of relief, fresh change energy, and new opportunity.
I woke up the following morning fully ready to move into the next phase. Conclusion? Nothing that wouldn't sound a little glib ... except that, perhaps, this is not all in our hands. As a friend of mine used to say, we're in show business: our business is simply to make sure we keep showing up!
July 23rd<
Change Inventory
To create - or indeed recreate - a comfortable and realistic foundation for growth, it's a good idea to take brief inventory of what's been achieved in, say, the past year. Leave nothing out on the basis of it seeming "too small". Everything that feels substantial, meaningful to us belongs on the list. It's common to find that we've done very well, even during the bleakest, most grinding periods of slow development.
It's also easy to let one area drag the other down: for example, focusing primarily on the development of new ideas and skills will often mean our revenues will have been necessarily impacted - we've just earned less, and that was the price we needed to pay. Let's not punish ourselves for such imbalances - in fact, they represent balance.
If we find ourselves slipping into self-critical perfectionism, it's worth imagining that we're addressing not ourselves, but someone else about whom we care. Amazing how much more freely the positives flow! This brief exercise shows us that we are successful in change, that we have a decent pedigree, and that we have solid reasons to be confident and energetic in our program.
July 24th
Freedom of choice
Every now and then I fall into the trap of believing (without being conscious about it) that I'm trapped in my current situation, and there's no way out. This could be a piece of work that's just not working, a problem I can't see a way out of, a relationship that's gone off track, or simply a feeling that's got me under its thumb.
This is rarely true for any person, unless they're imprisoned or incapacitated by mental or physical issues. And we all know plenty of extraordinary tales of human courage and resourcefulness. The trap is almost always what we might call a mind trap. Our sensation of lack of choice is self-imposed - old thought patterns, redundant half-questioned beliefs, tell us what's happening.
It's like picking up the wrong map to find out where we are and where to go next. This can be easier said than dealt with, however. We need, in my experience, to be patient with ourselves while the map is reviewed, refined or rejected, and then we can move forward again. (The old beliefs have served us well, and often need to serve out a kind of notice period ...) I'm often amazed, looking back, at how far off the mark I was in my reading of the situation.
There are always choices, even if they have yet to present themselves in a actionable form.
July 25th
What makes people want to change?
Or is the question better put: do people ever want to change, given the choice?
On a low day, I might say the latter. We only change when we're up against the wall, when the crisis feels sufficiently real. However, when people (by which I mean US and THEM: our colleagues, companions or families) see something they personally understand and like the look of at the other end of the process (the end), or feel they can pesonally connect with the change process (the means), they get it. They get engaged. And things get done.
The issue, above all else, is not a rational one, I believe. The drivers are emotional, and to an extent spiritual. Organisations only change because individuals change, and the primary task is that of communication. This communication has to occur in the personal, cultural, metaphorical and organisational language of each individual. The change seems to need to make 100% sense before it can gain any workable organisational traction.
The most powerful change language in business is a sort of body language, not what people just say, but what they do. I sometimes call this what you choose stand UP for, rather than just stand for. This behaviour either releases (I refuse to say unleashes!) huge positive and - critically - aligned energy for change in the individual stakeholders, or reveals the initiative as flawed and without authenticity from the start.
Change leadership is not taught. It's done, and we learn as we go. Commitment and authenticity are, I believe, the two most critical components. Oh, and courage.
