Two Principles Of Change
While writing the previous post, What It Takes To Change My Mind, I thought of a post I wrote some years ago at a now defunct blog. It is about change in general. I dug it up, tweaked it, and posted it below. Also, I wanted to offer something to those of you who might be sick of hearing about my ancestry.
Two principles of change seemed to hold true during the years that I worked as an organizational change agent. Call them “laws” if you wish, but I think of them as useful notions to keep in mind when guiding the work of change or when trying to effect a change in your own life.
Pitching Life
Scott Lauber writes about baseball at Delaware Online. His piece today is about lessons a young pitcher had to learn, and it seems to me that they are also lessons for the rest of us. The pitcher is Cole Hamels of the Phillies. He had a great first two season in the major leagues in 2007 and 2008, and was named most valuable player in the Phils’ World Series run. His 2009 season, however, was a huge disappointment. Last year it was obvious that he was often struggling, and he sometimes lost his composure.
Baseball Ballet
Damn! These guys are good! I enjoyed this video as much as any So You Think You Can Dance routine. Thanks to The Fightins.
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How Human Organizations Become Inhuman
To be human is to be imperfect. To be human is to be vulnerable. Humanity is denied when organizations encourage norms requiring that we relinquish our imperfection and our vulnerability, and require instead that we bring only our competitive nature, our striving, and the pretense of perfection and invulnerability within their doors. They then become inhuman. They become not “human organizations” but “organizations of humans.”
A friend told a Native American shaman that he was in the business of “bringing spirit into the workplace.” The shaman shook his head, “That is impossible,” he said. “You cannot bring spirit into a workplace because it is always there. It may be suffering, but it is always there.”
New Website Launched
I haven’t written a blog post in nearly two weeks. Unusual for me, but I do have a good excuse.
This is it, a new website — Salt River Explorer
I’d love to hear about your experience with the site.
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Read Chapter One And Head To Fargo
Time out for a brief commercial break…
I’m getting prepared for Jodee Bock’s Third Annual Bigger Small Talk Summit in Fargo, North Dakota, on June 16-17. Details and registration info are HERE.
The first day of this fabulous event allows the people who attend to set the agenda based on their own passions and interests, and to engage in dialogue that is deeper than every-day conversation.
The second day is a guided experience, which I will lead, based on my book, Is Your Genius At Work? In order to tease you into making the trek if you don’t live near Fargo, I’ve published Chapter 1 of the book HERE.
