It’s strange how the universe works.
I was talking with someone just this morning about the idea that starting a change process, and then abandoning it, is extremely damaging. It hurts your reputation as a leader, it makes people cynical, and it destroys any progress you’ve made. The likelihood of being able to change something NEXT time is greatly reduced.
And then a newsletter comes to my inbox, a column written by my buddy Alan over at Preston Leadership, entitled Starts and Stops are Bad for Business. He does a great job of explaining why steady progress in a direction will ALWAYS be more beneficial than going in spurts. Check that out.
When I work with my clients, we try to shoot for making change that’s permanent and has lasting impact. So we work on it bit by bit, week by week. Over the course of months, it’s amazing what happens.
At this point, I can hear you asking: I’m not sure where I’m going – how do I get started and be steady?
Here’s the answer: You always have a DIRECTION or a PURPOSE for change. That’s what’s consistent. You might now be sure exactly how you’ll get there, but with a stable goal, you can make steady progress. Just be sure to let everyone know that’s what you’re doing, so they can expect a certain degree of unpredictability.
It works. Slow and steady.
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27 April 2011 at 4:11 pm
Jon Dale
Hi Carl, a good friend once said to me that wrong decisions are ok, too. As long as you make marginally more right ones than wrong ones, you’ll keep moving forward.
Makes sense in s wrong kind of way.
Jon