Change is inevitable

It has been such a long time since the last post but I have been busy. A new baby in the house makes every day living quite a challenge and what was the norm never will be again. I am also involved in the transformation/creation of the finance function in a very large Australian company.

These two events have one very distinct commonality – change. Most people fear change, it represents the unknown. But change is inevitable, it is going to keep happening and eventually – it’s going to happen to you.

Being caught in change is a bit like swimming in a river (pardon the very extended metaphor). You have some options :

1. Resist the change or swim against the stream. Chances are you may be able to stay exactly where you are, but you are just as likely to tire and be swept away.
2. Let change happen or go with the flow. You won’t get tired but at the same time you will have little control over where the change takes you.
3. Influence the change or ride the wave. By being involved in influencing the change process you immediately herald your intention to be a leader in your organisation (or perhaps even industry). You also get the opportunity to shape the change in your organisation and how it impacts your business, you personally and your tribe (read up on Seth Godin if tribes at work is a foreign concept to you.)

Personally, I am all for option 3. If you swim with the current you tend to swim a lot faster than if you swim against or do nothing at all.

Maybe this comes from a smug sense that my opinion is worth adding to the change discussion, but I strongly believe that if you feel strongly enough about something, that regularly equates to an opinion that should be considered.

Bottom line : get off the sidelines and get in the game.