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Remember
the children's story about Chicken Little?
He was sitting under a tree when an acorn
fell and hit him on the head. Not knowing
what had happened, Chicken Little assumed
the worst and thought the sky was falling.
In a panic, he set out to tell the King.
(Even then, we wanted someone else to fix
our problems.) On his journey, he met Turkey
Lurky, Henny Penny, Piggly Wiggly and other
friends.
Chicken
Little was well respected in the animal
community, so when he explained his fears,
he wasn't questioned. He suggested that
the others join him and they did...without
question. As the group grew larger, it gained
credibility. Their message was doom and
gloom; their concern survival.
During the journey, they met Foxy Loxy.
Foxy saw their anxiety and took advantage
of the situation. Their vision may have
been survival; but, his was "lunch!"
He advised them of a "short-cut"
through a cave. Because they were searching
for a quick solution, they took his advice,
became the victims of his vision and were
never seen again. The sky is still up there.
We can learn a lot from this fable: don't
over-react; watch who you hang around with;
and be wary of short-term solutions. Let's
consider these cautions in our own uncertain
and sometimes scary world.
Don't over react. Chicken Little was
the victim of tunnel vision. He assumed
that his perspective was the only truth.
Had he just looked around, he would have
noticed that the sky wasn't falling anywhere
else. Fear can cause us to panic and leap
to the wrong conclusions. Before we act,
let's look at the big picture by gathering
information and assessing what's going on
beyond our personal and organizational boundaries.
Watch who you hang around with. It
could be dangerous to listen only to people
who agree with you. You certainly won't
get the whole picture. Don't assume that
other people's perspectives are wrong. They
may just be standing in a different place
and the world (or sky) may look different
from there. Sometimes enemies look like
friends and vice-versa. Look who's joining
forces today. Historical competitors in
business, industry and health care are now
creating strategic alliances. They realize
that working together is the only way to
thrive in this new environment. At least
once a week, have lunch with someone you
disagree with; you may learn something.
For sure, it will broaden your perspective.
Be wary of short-term solutions. Quick
fixes and short-cuts may cause long-term
problems. Wholesale lay-offs and simple
tinkering with the system have had disastrous
effects on both people and organizations.
Organizational bean counters, who are only
concerned about the next quarter, and politicians,
who are only concerned about being re-elected,
often do what is expedient for today without
assessing the long-term implications. These
people - whom I call "survivalists"
- think in the short-term. In this environment,
we need people with long-term vision.
There have always been visionaries. Marilyn
Ferguson in The Aquarian Conspiracy identified
scores of people who, throughout the ages,
have seen differently and thought differently.
These visionaries were usually considered
"odd balls." They always challenged
the status quo. They were more concerned
with transformation than survival.
So what is "transformation" all
about? transformation is not about being
better, bigger, smaller, or more efficient.
It's about being fundamentally different;
actually changing form. It requires a tremendous
act of faith to even think about going on
this journey, especially since the destination
is unknown. If there is a path to get there,
it's neither clear nor straight. In fact,
we may not be able to get there from here.
And even if we can, it will probably be
painful. Rosabeth Moss Cantor, editor of
the Harvard Business Review, said, "Everything
looks like a mistake in the middle."
That's because disintegration, or a feeling
that everything is falling apart, is likely
to be part of this transformation process.
A caterpillar doesn't become a butterfly
without going through a metamorphosis. And
no one thinks a cocoon is all that beautiful.
In the old world, we were able to see the
finish line from the starting gate. In the
new world, we're not even sure where we're
going. But if we try to protect ourselves
from this process, we may not prepare ourselves
to meet the challenges of a radically different
future. We need a transforming vision and
a belief in ourselves and our ability to
thrive in new circumstances.
So how do we get that transforming vision?
I think we start by changing how we plan.
Most of us currently use what I call the
"rear-view mirror" approach to
planning. We examine what we're good at,
where we've been successful, what's worked
for us in the past, and then we plan to
do more of that in the future. Now, that's
not a bad way to plan - if you're in a stable
environment. But think how difficult it
would be to drive down the road with your
windshield covered, looking only in your
rear-view mirror. It would help if the road
were extremely straight, if there were no
traffic, and if you went very slowly. But
given our current organizational reality,
none of those criteria apply. Even worse,
we don't have a map that tells us which
direction to go or how far we are from our
destination.
Why then do we keep looking to our past
to direct us into the future? I believe
it's because we're afraid that if we accept
the challenge of transformation, we won't
be the same any more. Even if we aren't
that crazy about the way things are now,
at least they're familiar. The fear of the
unknown may be our worst enemy.
But what if we let go of our fears and accept
the challenge of personal and corporate
transformation? If we do, we must learn
how to "future-focus" - being
able to see ourselves in the future as being
different than we are today. We must believe
that the future can be better than the past
and that the unknown can be as good as,
if not better than, the known. We will be
pioneers of the future: inventors, not responders;
visionaries, not victims. To do all this,
we'll need to be "psychologically hardy"
- able to maintain our mental and physical
health in times of transition. We can enhance
this state of hardiness by developing a
sense of commitment versus alienation, control
versus powerlessness and by seeing change
as a challenge versus a threat. I'll explore
these concepts in more depth in the future.
We can learn a lot from Chicken Little.
To succeed, we need to stay calm, value
many perspectives, have a long-term vision
and take advantage of every opportunity.
Striving only to survive can limit our vision
and prevent us from making the radical changes
that are necessary for us to thrive. Survival
solutions don't lead to transformation.
That's why survival is a lousy goal.
Linda
Tarrant brings insight, inspiration and
humor to people and organizations in transition.
She speaks on courage, connectivity and
change. Linda can be reached at TOC Consulting
Inc., (416) 533-1532, e-mail linda@lindatarrant.com,
or via her web site at www.lindatarrant.com.
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