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Understanding the Need for Radical Change

Written by: Les Brown

Article Overview: Why do organizations often turn on those within it who have their best interests at heart? Why do change efforts so frequently end in 'more of the same'? Much of it has to do with the cultural systems operative in each organization. Change is scary, and the 'poison we know' often seems preferable to the 'poison we don't know'. Even rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic can be doubly aggravating when there's someone coming along behind you, putting them all back where they were. Radical change is more than 'thinking outside the box' — it's acting outside the organizational box.

Understanding the Need for Radical Change

I chose the term ‘understanding’ for the awareness of our social connections, even though sometimes it’s used as a synonym for comprehension. This term, however, I think has a more communal connotation. We use the term mutual understanding to refer to the way that individuals in a community relate one with another. I use comprehension to refer to the way we interface with our world, while I use understanding to refer to our social and cultural context or environment.
Understanding is the awareness (or lack of awareness) that we live as members of overlapping systems. Each system is its own microcosm, and exists primarily to provide stability. It doesn’t take a lot of awareness to realize that stability is the enemy of change. The role of each member in a system is the preservation of the system — the maintenance of the status quo. When any element of a system starts to create change — even changes that the system nominally agrees are necessary — the rest of the elements shift to neutralize the change effort. Still, we’re surprised when a system proves resistant to the changes that will help it. We should expect that reaction from a system.
In addition, human systems all have their own individual cultures. A culture is ‘the way things are done’ within the system. Culture provides the unquestioned context within which decisions are made. Culture is the undefined yardstick against which members of an organization judge certain behaviors to be ‘acceptable’ or ‘unacceptable’. Since cultures exist in the context of a system, very often the transformational decisions that could effectively create change within a system are dismissed out-of-hand as unacceptable by that system's culture.
The only kind of change that can escape from the stifling that systems and their cultures perpetuate is a quantum change. Quantum change doesn’t move things forward gradually. Quantum change breaks the rules for a higher purpose. We can’t get to quantum change until we’re ready to challenge our own basic assumptions about right and wrong. The awareness we call understanding allows us to create a synthesis from our embrace of two opposing viewpoints. This awareness moves us out of the ‘safe’ zone and into the world of radical personal responsibility. It’s primarily there that purposeful change exists.
It sometimes feels scary taking an unpopular stand and going against the grain. People who have studied these things tell us that relatively few people live their values deeply. Most are content to absorb their opinions from others. However, I find that when I live in radical awareness, amazing things happen. I connect with people at an entirely different level. My appreciation begins to make a difference.
Sometimes the difference that awareness makes stimulates other people to react, and sometimes their reactions are unpleasant. For many people, change feels dangerous, and they’ll fight very hard to avoid that danger. Yet, there are always a few who are ready to say, “Yes! You have the awareness I was waiting for!” Real, purposeful, lasting change seldom happens bit by bit. It happens when one person makes a passionate commitment to an ideal in such a way that other change leaders wake up and take notice. ‘I can make a difference!’ What a radical thought!

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Article Tags: change effort, comprehension, connotation, cultural context, cultures, decisions, element, elements, interface, lack of awareness, microcosm, mutual understanding, quantum change, social connections, synonym, yardstick



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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: e-Commerce and e-Payment providers - Hi GT It is only fairly recently that people in South Africa have been able to get full use of Paypal as we were only able at one time to make payments but not receive them. Fortunately this has now changed. I have received money through Global X Change for one of the affiliate programs that I promote and have found them pretty good as the money is normally transferred directly into my bank account within 2-3 days and I have not had any problems with them. MichelleJ
Re: Obama Wants Social Security for Illegals - [quote="Alan Mater":3kaa8sg4] Obama WILL make changes... but they're not the changes we as a country need or should look forward to.[/quote:3kaa8sg4] Sad but this is exactly how I feel about it. Change is coming - but unless I'm really wrong, it is not a change this country needs. Amazing how much a good speaker with a good speech writer can do. If you paid attention to the things he said "off script" - much of it is frightening. Chris
Are you an Opportunity Addict? - 1) if you find yourself saying yes without thinking about how it will affect your other priorities 2) you have over 10 projects/inventions going on at the same time and this seems normal to you 3) you have spent hundreds and thousands of dollars on manufacturing, prototypes, etc. not to mention thousands of hours of your time....but you havent followed through on any of it 4) most of your projects are falling behind or have completely fallen off your radar....which is fueling your frustration The first step in recovery is to recognize this as a pattern of self sabotage. If you are clear in what your overall goals and objectives are, you should be able to create a lens through which you measure opportunities. You create your life, and your to do list. Change, Add, Remove, Adjust time-lines - whatever you like. But remember that every piece of unfinished business - stays that way J
You are too young - I don't really believe (I've been into web designing for 7 years now... I started in 2000) there is any web design laws. Besides the fact that you can't use copyrighted images on web design without permission from the original author. Also, any web designs you do you may want to have it copyrighted so other's can't steal your idea's or whatever... of course, you can offer a "Copyright Change" option for a bit more money that will allow you to be able to transfer the copyrights and give exclusive rights to the purchaser. All in all, don't worry about the laws... you should be fine, just remember that if your in the U.S. that if your making over $400 (or maybe its $600) in revenue, you'll have to pay taxes to the government... and please get a LLC, although its not a big thing with web designs, you could get into legal trouble somewhere in the business. Lastly, use contracts for when your selling or use agreements to clear the air so that you can have a safe business and you'll have some backing up if you ever are taken to court.


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