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Growing at the Speed of Change

Guest post by: Jim Clemmer

Article Overview: Change happens. We can't control much of the world changing around us. But we can control how we respond. We can choose to anticipate and embrace changes or resist them. Resisting change is usually like trying to push water upstream.

Growing at the Speed of Change

"What is the most rigorous law of our being? Growth. No smallest atom of our moral, mental, or physical structure can stand still a year. It grows - it must grow; nothing can prevent it." - Mark Twain, American author and humorist Change happens. We can't control much of the world changing around us. But we can control how we respond. We can choose to anticipate and embrace changes or resist them. Resisting change is usually like trying to push water upstream. Generally we're quick to point to others who resist change. It's much harder to recognize or admit to our own change resistance.

If the rate of external change exceeds our rate of internal growth we're eventually going to be changed. The "ghost of crisis yet to come," similar to the third spirit that visited Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, is also as predictable. A core theme of The CLEMMER Group's work and this book is that success comes from change, growth, and development. If I am a static person who hasn't developed the habits of personal growth and continuous development, I may become a statistic. I will get caught and surprised by change.

We were meant to grow. When we don't grow, we turn to drugs, sex, crime, TV, technology, or many other diversions to fill the emptiness. Preparing for change is like preparing for final exams. We know they're coming well in advance, good preparation and daily discipline means no crash cramming for the big event, and it's much easier if it's a subject we really enjoy.

Charlies Darwin was a 19th century British naturalist who revolutionized the study of biology with his theory of evolution based on natural selection. His most famous works include Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. One of his key research findings was that, "it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change." Learning and personal growth is at the heart of an organization or individual's ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. The key question is "does our rate of internal growth exceed the rate of external change?"

Searching for stability and predictability can be one way we resist change. Stability is when everything is settled. It's when little new can happen to me. But that means there is no growth, no development, no exciting new gains that might result from unexpected pains. Predictability and stability is the denial of life. It also means that the faster the world changes around me, the more likely I am to become a victim of the changes I am trying to deny.

We don't see the world as it is; we see the world as we are. If I am an unchanging stability seeker who just wants to maintain the status quo most change is a threat. If we're constantly seeking new challenges and opportunities to grow most changes are an opportunity. Some people call change progress and celebrate the improvements that it brings. Others curse those same changes and long for the good old days. Same changes, different responses. The choice is ours.

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Article Tags: leadership
Referred by: http://www.searchengineworkshops.com



Related Forum Posts
Re: What's 1 word to describe what your business will be in 2012 - Growing. MichelleJ
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: SES Toronto Next Week - In that case, how about the following? Track: Get Me Up to Speed * State of Search Marketing in Canada Track: Practical & Actionable * Beyond Linkbait: Getting Authoritative Online Mentions Track: Advanced * User Search Behavior * Social Media Success * Web 2.0 & Search Engines * Giving Credit Where It’s Due: Which Campaign Sold What?
God's Diet - Very interesting, from both a health perspective and a marketing perspective. Growing up Mormon we were raised on The Word of Wisdom. No coffee, no tea, no junk food, no smoking, no drinking..etc. All good. But I think its harder and harder to find true, pure food these days. And lets face it, I'm not likely to start growing my own produce or keeping cattle..
Re: Meet the NEW Twitter.com - Hey GT, I wasn't aware of this at all. Looks like a good change is coming. The new interface looks much better than the current one, and I like the new features that will be included. Speed is definitely an issue for many sites, and Twitter especially. The current site is somewhat slow at times or doesn't load for me at all which requires having to hit the "refresh" button (sometimes multiple times). Sometimes ReTweeting doesn't work, etc. There's issues that will have to be addressed, and hopefully with the new site rolling out they can find a way to speed things up and make it efficient.


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