Twas the Present of Change

woman-and-santa-claus-hat

The date was the 24th December, the time 9:30 PM, and an ageless white facially follicled gentleman looked carefully at himself in the mirror.

For more years than he could remember, he had worn a red velvet suit, fluffed out his bushy beard and had gone about his famously punctual global delivery service that was the envy of Amazon.

He was known by the young and the old, no business card was required to make his introduction, he had an immediately recognisable face that made even the President of the United States jealous.

Although he had mastered keyless entry into any house, office, government, or building with high security, he was welcome by all, and was not considered a threat by the police, in fact, quite the opposite.

He had a smile and a laugh that could subdue the most rebellious child, or annoying employee. His flying reindeer fleet and professional elf workforce created a NPS that exceeded the expectations of even the most virtuous CEO.

But, it was time for a change. Yes, he had fallen into a seasonal rut and he needed to reinvigorate his creativity.

First to go was his long entrenched beard allowing the freezing North Pole winds to redden his virginal smooth face, an experience he had not encountered since his youth. Next was his suit, now fashionably replaced with a jacket, paisley shirt and jeans, complete with a tartan scarf and beret.

He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled until his elation was broken by the gentle tap on the shoulder by a senior elf reminding him that it was now time to start delivering that vast array of the world population’s presents.

But, it was time for yet one more long overdue strategic change in the festive status quo. He picked up the keys to the turbo powered sled, placed them in the hand of his 18 year old daughter and said, “You can drive, my turn to be the passenger”.

That night, a feminine sounding “Ho, Ho, Ho” was heard throughout the world accompanied by a smiling and fashionably dressed man now experiencing a newly gained sense of innovation.

The Power of a Small Drop

Water Drop

 

When a towel is placed under a tap where the water is flowing quite quickly, most of the water runs off the towel with minimal absorption. However, if the water velocity from the tap is reduced to a slow and steady drip, the towel now becomes very effective with the water collection as each drop has time to fully permeate into the fabric.

Let’s take this thought and consider its application to the implementation of a new idea or innovative, change application in business, or in our social activities.

If the mindset shift associated with the proposed change is too large, those individuals feeling the full force of the change action may not absorb it so it could be lost and have minimal or no impact. The key for success is to slowly drip feed the idea to allow the desired effect to slowly permeate into the organization (or individuals) to which it has been aimed.

However, in some circumstances where efforts to implement change continually encounter strong resistance, sometimes there is the need to use a water canon to blast the change through with maximum force! But this course of action tends to obliterate the “towel” and may not achieve the required result. There are also usually a lot of puddles to clean up afterwards which may require a larger number of fresh towels!

So for your next “change introduction” may I suggest you adopt the steady and slow drip and you will obtain a nice wet and saturated towel!

 

The Corporate Zoo

Zoo

If the corporate office was likened to a zoo, it would have a collection of many different animals all roaming freely throughout the building. Each animal would have its individual innate work style and unique personality traits. Inside the animal enclave, each animal would need to learn to adapt to the surrounding work environment or mayhem would prevail.

Some animals would want to maintain their own personal space, others may form packs to work more effectively together and for their longer term survival.

The question is…..which animal are you?

Are you…..

The Peacock:
Roams the office with a showy plumage to impress your fellow animals and be noticed?

The Mouse:
Doesn’t want to be seen so scurries quickly around the building trying to evade direct eye contact?

The Bear:
A loud and obnoxious animal who typically has minimal friends and which other animals try and avoid?

The Cat:
Likes to have a quiet unobserved snooze in a hidden and unused office?

The Turtle:
Thinks that everything is all too hard and would prefer to be somewhere else so is very distant and aloof?

The YOU:
Is highly liked and well respected and is prepared to take on a range of animal behaviours. Sometimes the YOU is required to be a leader, other times a follower. The greatest skill of the YOU is in being able to adapt to your ever changing zoo environment to drive progress and the welfare of the total animal community and YOUrself.

I’m sure you are the YOU. However, make sure that YOU have a loud roar now and then to ensure your standing and respect within the animal kingdom!

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