What You Don't Change You Choose

Everyone desires change.

At least they say they do.

But when it comes time to actually change something, it rarely happens.

Habits Don't Die Easily

Buzzwords aren't change.

Bestsellers aren't change.

Change requires action.

Sustained action.

Until one habit replaces another.

Until then, by default, what you don't change is what you choose.

Here are some takes on change...

Change is Inevitable. Growth is Optional. - Maxwell

Yep.

People Will Choose Unhappiness Over Uncertainty

Some opt for familiar discomfort to the unknown challenges that come with change. The so-called devil you know versus the one you don’t. And it’s this fear of the unknown that leaves people stuck in limbo. Face your fears. Get unstuck.

Be happy.

Fear Makes the Wolf Bigger Than It Is

The longer you avoid your uncertainties, the more your anxieties will grow. If you don’t train yourself to face down your fears and cut them down to size, you’ll end up overwhelmed. Frozen. Stuck. Unable to move or change. Face your fears and keep the wolves at bay.

You Can Avoid Reality, But You Cannot Avoid the Consequences of Avoiding Reality. – Ayn Rand, Major Avoider of Reality, Eventually Paid the Price

Try as you might, you can run but you can’t hide. Reality will find you.

And when it does, you can either change it, or it will change you.

You’ve got to think about it. And how you think about it.

Futureproof Yourself

They say that the best way to predict the future is to create it. With so many people finding themselves made obsolete by change, it may be a good idea to learn the skills that are changing your business. In advertising, more and more projects are either social, digital or AI in nature. Training yourself in these areas could make the difference between a promotion or a layoff. That's not to say that you necessarily have to become a programmer or an expert in these fields, but a firm understanding of such skills can a long way. You may even discover a new career path that you enjoy even more. As my 92-yeqr-old friend, Arnold Penney, used to say, "Here's the future!"

In the Future, There Will Be No Female Leaders. There Will Just Be Leaders.

While far from ideal levels, good change is taking place. Less and less, leadership is being defined by gender. More and more, merit is changing the face of those calling the shots. It’s up to all of us to support those who can provide the most effective vision, inspiration and change.

Generational Marketing Labels are as Accurate as Your Horoscope

Like astrologers making horoscopes, marketers are intrigued by categorizing different groups with tidy labels:

Boomers.

Gen-Z.

Millennials.

Gen-Z.

Gen Alpha.

According to some, each generation comes from a different planet. With their own preset mindsets and behaviors. True, generations change but human nature?

Not so much. Every generation looks to express itself. Prove itself. Fight the power. Become the power. In reality, life stages matter more than generations. My advice? Buy insights, not buzzwords. There are no shortcuts to true understanding and actual- not perceived or imagined- change.

We’re Caught in a War Between the Urgent and the Important

We’re so busy being busy, putting out fire after fire, that too often we fail to get around to the truly important stuff-- the kind of big things that make a long-term difference.?Some hope to change this, while others actually enjoy these distractions, using them to avoid the heavy lifting.?Why??Because they either aren’t big picture thinkers, or they’re master jugglers who prefer to keep as many balls up in the air as possible, keeping the game squarely in their wheelhouse, even if nothing really gets accomplished in the chaos.

There's a big difference between appearing busy and being productive. Motion does not necessarily lead to change.

Brené Brown Sums it Up So Well...

"Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn't require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are"

Change is not always best for you. Know when to stand your ground.

Eisoptrophobia: The Fear of Seeing Oneself in a Mirror.

Before you can get comfortable in your own skin, you’ll have to get over the initial discomfort of seeing with new eyes. You’ll have to be honest with yourself, willing to explore uncertain territories- within you and beyond you. Sometimes, you’re going to feel anxious and lost, until you get things sorted out. Truth is, it’s a process that you will face over and over again. But each time you’ll be a bit better at it. A bit wiser. A bit stronger. Still, day in, day out, you’ve got to check yourself. Because sometimes we lie to ourselves without even knowing it.

?Deep change, real change means committing to self-reflection. That doesn’t mean spending all your time in your mind, it means being honest with yourself. And that may just mean asking friends for their honest opinion of you. Not to be hurtful but to be helpful. It’s like a personal intervention called before you come anywhere close to hitting rock bottom. Or see a therapist not because you’re overwhelmed but because you want to better understand your journey and those in it.

All this is just the beginning of the next phase of your most interesting adventure- you.

Make People Part of the Change. If They Don’t Create It, They’ll Feel Threatened By It. And if They Feel Threatened, They’ll Fight Back.? – Joe Brown, IDEO Portfolio Director

Change in a creative workplace is not going to happen by you coming down with two tablets and 10 commandments everyone must obey. Sorry, you don’t have that kind of authority. You’re not there to boss, you’re there to serve. And the more power you give away, the more power comes back to you. Not that you will make everyone happy.

You Never Change Things by Fighting the Existing Reality. To Change Something, Build a New Model that Makes the Existing Model Obsolete. – Buckminster Fuller, Architect, author, inventor & futurist

The iPhone made regular phones obsolete. GPS made maps obsolete. Uber made cab companies obsolete. Servant leadership is making command-and-control leadership obsolete (we hope). Whether it’s technology or philosophy, true change rarely comes through incremental change. You have to offer something better. More importantly, you have to offer something different. Not just to your clients, but to your team. Surprisingly, when it comes to leadership and culture, the Creative Industry is amazingly uncreative. What a great opportunity for you.

If You Can Change People’s Lives, You Have a Business.?????????????????? – Richard Branson

Scratch your own itch and solve something near & dear to you. Just make sure that there’s enough others who feel as strongly as you do.

Not All Classrooms Have 4 Walls

Breathe in. Breathe out. Get out of your usual spaces and fill the spaces of your mind with something new and fresh. A change of environment is a change of perspective. And how you see things makes all the difference.

A Toxic Environment is More Likely to Change You than You Change It

Even the most optimistic and enthusiastic of people can’t turnaround every company culture. It’s good to take on a challenge but don’t let a sinking ship take you down and drown you. Sometimes you have to give up on a company because it has given up on itself.

If Someone Proves Me Wrong and Shows Me I am Making a Mistake, I Will Gladly Change. Learning the Truth Never Harmed Me: the Only Evil is to Remain Ignorant. – Marcus Aurelius

Don’t fight the truth. Get over yourself. Our perceptions are like a chisel that slowly but surely chips away at what’s false to leave us with what is true.

Don’t Eat Breakfast Cereals that Change the Color of the Milk.

An odd one, but I love odd.

The Certainty Trap

It can be Scary to find out you’ve been wrong about something.

But We Can’t be Afraid to Change Our Minds, to Accept that Things are Different, that They’ll Never be the Same, for Better or Worse.

We Have to be Willing to Give Up What We Used to Believe.

The More We’re Willing to Accept What is and Not What We Thought,

We’ll Find Ourselves Exactly Where We Belong. -- Grey’s Anatomy

Certainty certainly feels good. It feels confident. Strong. Solid. But it will also feel like a ton of bricks landing on your head if you follow it blindly. You can’t change if you’re absolutely certain. No matter how sure of yourself and your position, you may want to pay attention to see what kind of foundation your opinions are built on. You may be surprised. You may also come to a new and more genuine comfort. Speaking of certainty and change...

Don’t Wait Until You Have Enough Facts to Be 100% Sure, Because by Then it is Almost Always Too Late. - General Colin Powell

Fear causes us to hesitate. Procrastinate. Yet, critical decisions require you to be decisive and timely. For example, the U.S. military is willing to place lives at risk when they are 70% percent sure of a mission’s success. Only 70%! Not because our military leaders don’t value the life of the enlisted, but because the battlefield conditions will have changed by the time they hoped to have absolute certainty. It’s dangerous to pass off procrastination as patience. Change comes with risks. At some point, you’ve just got to move past your fear, and move forward. In war. In work. In life.

Don’t Let the Office Historian Make You a Prisoner of the Past

We tried something like that before and it didn’t work.

I had that idea 5 years ago but the CEO killed it.

I think someone else did that before.

Legal has never approved something like that.

There's a reason we've always done it this way.

This is what the Office Historian sounds like.

Old and tired.?

Now experience can be quite an asset, but sometimes fear,?burnout or a need to remain relevant makes people look?backwards more than forward.

Truth is, times change.?

You can’t dip your toe in the same river twice.?

Live in the present, and ask your team to focus on the best solution for today?rather than yesterday’s failings.

Eight Steps for Leading Change

?Harvard Mega-brain, Professor John Kotter, came up with this simple but powerful process:

1)??? Establish a Sense of Urgency…No one changes things unless they have to

2)??? Form a Powerful Coalition…Find the right visionaries, doers and influencers

3)??? Create a Vision…Your North Star

4)??? Communicate the Vision…The right mix of meetings and messaging

5)??? Empower Others to Act...A vision is an invite to add your touch

6)??? Create Short Term Wins…Get some skins on the wall for momentum

7)??? Cement Improvements, while accelerating more change…

8)??? Bake in New Approaches…Make them part of your DNA

?These simple steps have helped me start companies and straighten out others.

For more depth, Google the good professor. It may well change the way you look at change.

Here’s to the Crazy Ones…

The Misfits, the Rebels, the Troublemakers,

the Round Pegs in the Square Holes…

the Ones Who See Things Differently—

They’re Not Fond of Rules…

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You Can Quote Them, disagree with Them,

Glorify or Vilify Them,

But the Only Thing You Can’t Do is Ignore Them

Because They Change Things…

They Push the Human Race Forward,

and While Some may may see them as the crazy ones,

we See Genius,

Because the Ones Who Are Crazy Enough to

Think They Can Change the World,

Are the Ones Who Do.

-- Steve Jobs

An oldie but a goody. Something worth posting at least once a year.

In fact, a dear friend had this read as a “reading” at his wedding.

(No, it didn’t last. Not Steve’s fault.)

Regardless, stay crazy, don't fear change.

That's a Wrap!!!

Thanks for following Navigating the Fustercluck.

And thank you to those of you who have been forwarding it to friends.

Til next week...

Here's to change.

Here's to change agents.

Here's to the future!

Wegs