CHANGE, WHERE TO BEGIN?

"Change almost always starts at the edges and moves toward the center"  says Seth Godin.

The assumption of Seth Godin is that those at the center (of power, of attention, of the resources) have too much to risk and so they are the least interesting and interested in anything being very different. So those with less to lose and more to benefit from change are those at the fringe or edge of any organization.

Sounds good.

What do I know about change from my experience?

--Regardless of where it starts, change will eventually meet with resistance

--Resistance is usually not made overt. It disguises itself in all kinds of ways including agreement

--Don't think of 'change'. Think of 'creating'.

--Involve as many people in the creation as possible, regardless of time and messiness

--Don't make a big deal of change by giving it a grandiose title. 

--Grow the change through contagion

--Let  positive impact or result grow the change energy. Do not over market.

--Let change happen, don't make it happen.  Figure out the difference

--Conversation creates change.  Tell and sell talks create resistance

--Change need a good narrative to support it--a history, a crisis, a challenge, a challenge met and a victory.

--Don't let change become omnipresent and ambiguous. Make demarcations of movement

--Keep anchors of all kinds to hold onto while the change creates the necessary chaos to create something new

--Changers are happier than changee's.

(nuggets from a former change agent)