Inspirational Message July 8, 2007

WHY CHANGE?
(We Have Always Done It This Way)

The story goes of a husband asking his wife, “Honey, why do you off the ends of a roast before you cook it?” “Because my mother did it that way,” she responded. The husband called his mother in law and asked her the same question. When she gave the same answer, he called his wife’s grandmother. The elderly matron laughed and said, “I don’t know why they cut off the ends of the roast, but I did because a full roast wouldn’t fit in my pan.”

This story points to the fact that even the best of practices sometimes outlive their usefulness. As leaders we must recognize when it is time for a change of strategy and have the wisdom and courage to lean into the new direction. We must be constantly growing and developing not just maintaining, because without change growth is impossible.

Here are 5 keys for making positive changes in your life and business:

1. Ask for wisdom. Heaven is not static but in constant motion, God is the great innovator and He can give us ideas for our business if we ask. “We have not because we ask not”
2. Be willing to let go. Sometimes we become so attached to a process or method it is hard to imagine doing anything differently. Perhaps take a look at the way we structure our day. Make a conscious effort to move away from the comfortable like emailing a customer and pick up the phone instead.
3. Realize change may be painful. We all have an aversion to change, especially if it is not an absolutely necessary. Give yourself time to go through the process, making small, incremental transitions. For instance, the prospect of hosting a healthy home party may seem daunting, but if you schedule it, invite the people, and enlist some help, you can pull it off.
4. Change but stay the same. We change practices and procedures but never compromise our core values. In their book Built to Last, James Collins and Jerry Porras note: “Core Values in a visionary company form a rock solid foundation and do not drift with the trends and fashions of the day. In some cases, the core values have remained intact for over 100 years… Yet, while keeping their core ideologies tightly fixed, visionary companies display a powerful desire for progress that enables them to change and adapt without compromising their cherished core ideals.”
5. Move out to a new place. A great story from antiquity shows Abraham hearing the voice of God, promising that he would be the father of a new nation. However in order to receive this promise he had to leave his home and travel to a new country not knowing exactly where he was going. Because of his action, a new nation was born and the destiny of the world was altered. You may not have to move to a new country, but you will have to venture out, sometimes not knowing the exact outcome. Perhaps join a networking group, get involved at your child’s school, volunteer for a community project or join a prayer group.