The Change Management Blog

As a systems thinker, I’ve come to realize that when you want to effect change, you can’t just change one thing.

There are at least two things that must change simultaneously. I’m currently writing some material about that, calling “The Starfish Principle.”

Also, people just don’t like change. There’s a legendary cartoon that describes the paradox of change:

Which brings me to the question asked in the title. Even though one change will lead to another change, which will lead to another change to the point of it becoming systemic, the nature of a system is all elements must be present and functioning at an acceptable level.

Therefore, to generate change, the first thing that must change is something very personal. If you want to see an improvement as a result of a change, the first thing you need to change is your mind.

Closed mindsets are the primary reason why things don’t change – even though things will inevitably change on their own even if no one wants to be open to the change.

To change is to grow, as the famous quote from Heraclites states. If we want to grow, things must change. Some animals need to shed their skin or their shells to enable their growth. Humans are told they need to “Think outside the box,” or “Get out of their shell,” if they’re going to make something of themselves and not stay stuck in the same old rut.

So what if we don’t grow – and just decide to stagnate with a closed mind?

Just think of the Sea of Galilee, teaming with fish and sea life. Water flows in, water flows out. It’s constantly changing. Its waters flow into the Dead Sea, which takes in water, but has no outlet. The only things that live in it are bacteria and fungi because of its high salt content (about 34%). No fish, no plants no – ability to support what we would know as life.

The choice is yours – do you want to be life-giving…or life-taking?