The physics professor with the unruly shock of white hair strolls up to the blackboard, picks up the chalk, and writes a big tilde, then below it an equally large equal signthus creating the symbol for "approximately equals." Turning to the amphitheater full of eager students and pointing to the board, he smiles, "Ladies and gentlemen, there is only one ting dot is certain in zee known universe. Und do you know vot it is? He waits as he scans from side to side and up and down. No one replies. Zee one ting dot is certain in zee universe, zee one thing you can depend on, is dot nothing, absolutely nothing, is certain." The hand of the smart-aleck senior in the back row shoots up. "Sir, are you sure about that?" The prof replies, "I am... POSITIVE!" Would you agree with me that change is one of the only constants in the business world and in our personal lives as well? A fundamental principle of the 21st century is "T.C." (Things Change). You get promoted, and suddenly you face challenges you never knew existed. You struggle to tread water until you finally adapt. Then you get a new assignment and start the process all over again. New equipment makes its appearance in your workplace, equipment no one really knows how to operate efficiently. A merger and acquisition takes place, and all of the management structure above you suddenly rearranges itself into a Gordian knot of direct reports and dotted-line relationships. Change is happening, and more change is coming. The sooner we accept this fundamental principle and the sooner we learn how to use it to our advantage rather than fighting it or trying to avoid it, the more successful we will become. |
