CHANGE IS GOOD......DEAL WITH IT !!!

Coping with Change: Develop Your Personal Strategy

By Steve Singleton

Why do we resist change?As the saying goes, the only people who like change are busy cashiers and wet babies. We find change disorienting, creating within us an anxiety similar to culture shock, the unease visitors to an alien land feel because of the absence of the familiar cues they took for granted back home. With an established routine, we don't have to think! And thinking is hard work.
Change is a business fact of lifeIs your company is currently undergoing major changes that will affect the lives of all of its employees? These changes are probably in response to the evolving needs of your customers. They are made possible because of improvements in telecommunications and digital technology. They are likely guided by accepted principles and practices of total quality management. And you can expect that they will result in significant improvements profitability--a success that all employees will share. Because our customers' needs are NOW, we must make changes swiftly, which means that all of us must cooperate with the changes, rather than resist them.
How do we resist change?We tend to respond to change the same way we respond to anything we perceive as a threat: by flight or fight. Our first reaction is flight--we try to avoid change if we can. We do what futurist Faith Popcorn calls "cocooning": we seal ourselves off from those around us and try to ignore what is happening. This can happen in the workplace just by being passive. We don't volunteer for teams or committees; we don't make suggestions, ask questions, or offer constructive criticism. But the changes ahead are inescapable. Those who "cocoon" themselves will be left behind.
Even worse is to fight, to actively resist change. Resistance tactics might include negativity, destructive criticism, and even sabotage. If this seldom happens at your company, you are fortunate.
Take a different approach to changeRejecting both alternatives of flight or flight, we seek a better option--one that neither avoids change nor resists it, but harnesses and guides it.
Change can be the means to your goals, not a barrier to them. Both fight and flight are reactions to perceiving change as a threat. But if we can change our perceptions, we can avoid those reactions. An old proverb goes, "Every change brings an opportunity." In other words, we must learn to see change as a means of achieving our goals, not a barrier preventing us from reaching them.
Another way of expressing the same thought is: A change in my external circumstances provides me with an opportunity to grow as a human being. The greater the change is, the greater and faster I can grow. If we can perceive change along these lines, we will find it exciting and energizing, rather than depressing and debilitating.
Yet this restructuring of our perspective on change can take some time. In fact, coping with change follows the same steps as the grieving process.1 The steps are shock and denial that the old routine must be left behind, then anger that change is inevitable, then despair and a longing for the old ways, eventually replaced by acceptance of the new and a brighter view of the future. Everyone works through this process; for some, the transition is lightning fast, for others painfully slow.
Realize your capacity to adapt.As one writer put it recently:
Our foreparents lived through sea changes, upheavals so cataclysmic, so devastating we may never appreciate the fortitude and resilience required to survive them. The next time you feel resistant, think about them and about what they faced--and about what they fashioned from a fraction of the options we have. They blended old and new worlds, creating family, language, cuisine and new life-affirming rhythms, and they encouraged their children to keep on stepping toward an unknown but malleable future.2
Human beings are created remarkably flexible, capable of adapting to a wide variety of environments and situations. Realizing this can help you to embrace and guide change rather than resisting or avoiding it.
Develop a coping strategy based on who you are.Corporate employees typically follow one of four decision-making styles: analytical, directive, conceptual, and behavioral. These four styles, described in a book by Alan J. Rowe and Richard O. Mason,3 have the following characteristics:
Analytical Style – technical, logical, careful, methodical, needs much data, likes order, enjoys problem-solving, enjoys structure, enjoys scientific study, and enjoys working alone.
Conceptual Style – creative and artistic, future oriented, likes to brainstorm, wants independence, uses judgment, optimistic, uses ideas vs. data, looks at the big picture, rebellious and opinionated, and committed to principles or a vision.
Behavioral Style – supportive of others, empathetic, wants affiliation, nurtures others, communicates easily, uses instinct, avoids stress, avoids conflict, relies on feelings instead of data, and enjoys team/group efforts.
Directive Style – aggressive, acts rapidly, takes charge, persuasive and/or is manipulative, uses rules, needs power/status, impatient, productive, single-minded, and enjoys individual achievements.
Read once more through these descriptions and identify which style best describes you. Then find and study the strategy people who share your style follow to cope with change:
Analytical coping strategy – You see change as a challenging puzzle to be solved. You need plenty of time to gather information, analyze data, and draw conclusions. You will resist change if you are not given enough time to think it through.
Conceptual coping strategy – You are interested in how change fits into the big picture. You want to be involved in defining what needs to change and why. You will resist change if you feel excluded from participating in the change process.
Behavioral coping strategy – You want to know how everyone feels about the changes ahead. You work best when you know that the whole group is supportive of each other and that everyone champions the change process. If the change adversely affects someone in the group, you will perceive change as a crisis.
Directive coping strategy – You want specifics on how the change will affect you and what your own role will be during the change process. If you know the rules of the change process and the desired outcome, you will act rapidly and aggressively to achieve change goals. You resist change if the rules or anticipated results are not clearly defined.
Realizing what our normal decision-making style is, can enable us to develop personal change-coping tactics.
How can we cope with change?1. Get the big picture. – Sometimes, not only do we miss the forest because of the trees, but we don't even see the tree because we're focused on the wood. Attaining a larger perspective can help all of us to cope with change, not just the conceptualists. The changes underway at my company are clearly following at least four important trends, which I believe are probably reflective of businesses in general:
Away from localized work toward network-based work,
Away from a feast-or-famine working environment toward a routinely busy working environment,
Away from site-limited approaches toward approaches that are consistent company-wide, and
Away from vertical, top-down management toward a more horizontal management structure, with shared accountability.
Getting at least this much comprehension of the big picture will help us to understand where each of us fits.
2. Do some anchoring. – When everything around you is in a state of flux, it sure helps to find something stable that isn't going to change, no matter what. Your company's values (whether articulated or not) can provide that kind of stability for you. Ours include the Company Family, Focus on the Customer, Be Committed to Quality, and Maintain Mutual Respect. These values are rock-solid; they are not going to disappear or rearrange themselves into something else. Plus, each of us has personal values that perhaps are even more significant and permanent. Such immovables can serve as anchors to help us ride out the storm.
3. Keep your expectations realistic. – A big part of taking control of the change you experience is to set your expectations. You can still maintain an optimistic outlook, but aim for what is realistically attainable. That way, the negatives that come along won't be so overwhelming, and the positives will be an adrenaline rush. Here are some examples:
There will be some bumps along the road. We shouldn't expect all of the changes ahead to be painless, demanding only minimal sacrifice, cost, or effort. In fact, we should expect some dead ends, some breakdowns in communications, and some misunderstandings, despite our best efforts to avoid them. We may not be able to anticipate all of the problems ahead, but we can map out in general terms how we will deal with them.
Not everyone will change at the same rate. The learning rates of any employees will distribute themselves along a bell curve. A few will adapt rapidly, most will take more time, and a few will adjust gradually. Also, many younger employees may find change, especially technological innovations, easier than those older. The reason may be, as one observer explains, "Older people's hard disks are fuller."4 On the other hand, you may find some younger ones surprisingly reluctant to take on a new challenge.
The results of change may come more slowly than we would want. As participants in an "instant society," conditioned by the media to expect complex problems to reach resolution in a 60-minute time frame, we may find the positive results of change slow to arrive from the distant horizon. If we are aware of this, we won't be so disappointed if tomorrow's results seem so similar to today's. 4. Develop your own, personal change tactics. Get plenty of exercise, plenty of rest, and watch your diet. Even if you take all the right steps and follow the best advice, undergoing change creates stress in your life, and stress takes energy. Aware of this, you can compensate by taking special care of your body.
Invest time and energy in training. Sharpen your skills so that you can meet the challenges ahead with confidence. If the training you need is not available through Bowne, get it somewhere else, such as the community college or adult education program in your area.
Get help when you need it. If you are confused or overwhelmed with the changes swirling around you, ask for help. Your supervisor, manager, or coworkers may be able to assist you in adjusting to the changes taking place. Your human resources department and any company-provided counseling services are other resources available to you.
Make sure the change does not compromise either your company values or your personal ones. If you are not careful, the technological advances jostling each other for your attention and adoption will tend to isolate you from personal contact with your coworkers and customers. E-mail, teleconference, voice-mail, and Intranet can make us more in touch with each other, or they can keep us antiseptically detached, removed from an awareness that the digital signals we are sending reach and influence another flesh-and-blood human being.
Aware of this tendency, we must actively counteract the drift in this direction by taking an interest in people and opening up ourselves to them in return. We have to remember to invest in people--all of those around us--not just in technology.
The "new normalcy"Ultimately, we may discover that the current state of flux is permanent. After the events of September 11, Vice President Richard Cheney said we should accept the many resultant changes in daily life as permanent rather than temporary. "Think of them," he recommended, "as the 'new normalcy.'"
You should take the same approach to the changes happening at your workplace. These are not temporary adjustments until things get "back to normal." They are probably the "new normalcy" of your life as a company. The sooner you can accept that these changes are permanent, the better you can cope with them all--and enjoy their positive results.

Notes
1. Nancy J. Barger and Linda K. Kirby, The Challenge of Change in Organizations: Helping Employees Thrive in the New Frontier (Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black Publ., 1995). This source is summarized in Mary M. Witherspoon, "Coping with Change," Women in Business 52, 3 (May/June 2000): 22-25.
2. Susan Taylor, "Embracing Change," Essence (Feb. 2002): 5.
3. Alan J. Rowe and Richard O. Mason, Managing with Style: A Guide to Understanding, Assessing and Improving Decision-Making (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Management Series, 1987) cited in Witherspoon, "Coping with Change."
4. Emily Friedman, "Creature Comforts," Health Forum Journal 42, 3 (May/June 1999): 8-11. Futurist John Naisbitt has addressed this tendency in his book, High tech/high touch: Technology and our search for meaning (New York: Random House, 1999). Naisbitt co-wrote this book with his daughter Nana Naisbitt and Douglas Philips.
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Copyright ©2006 Steve Singleton
Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles. He has been an editor, reporter, and public relations consultant. He has taught college-level Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses and has taught seminars in 11 states and the Caribbean.
Go to his DeeperStudy.com for Bible study resources, no matter what your level of expertise. Explore "The Shallows," plumb "The Depths," or use the well-organized "Study Links" for original sources in English translation. Check out the DeeperStudy Bookstore for great e-books, free books, and great discounts. Subscribe to his free "DeeperStudy Newsletter" or "DeeperStudy Blog."

CHANGE IS GOOD.......THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES.

The Challenges of Change............

By Duncan Brodie

In life and business we face constant change. Our ability to adapt to new circumstances, new challenges or opportunities has a real bearing on what we achieve. Yet in truth there are many challenges when it comes to change.
Desire
The starting point for any change is desire. The desire might be to:
• Reverse an adverse situation
• Exploit a gap in the market for a product or service
• Position yourself for a senior post where you can make a real impact
• Lose weight
Unless you have that desire or hunger to achieve, making change will be a real challenge.
Commitment
Change can be tough. It takes commit to make and sustain change. In the business world it is claimed that as few as 3 in every 10 changes are sustainable. It is easy to start with lots of enthusiasm. Staying focussed and committed is where many folks fall short.
Belief
We all have doubts, fears, worries or anxieties. When contemplating change these appear in abundance. If we start with the belief that change is possible, worthwhile and beneficial then we stand a much better chance of achieving.
Know How
Change is something we are just expected to do. While all of us are adaptable, less of us have had the experience and learning of making major sustainable changes. Taking a little time to learn about change and to step out of our normal comfort zone can help us to build our know how.
Resistance
Few people relish change. Given the choice, most people will either resist or avoid. We resist change for a whole host of reasons yet overcoming resistance is essential if any change is to be made.
Silo Thinking
Silo thinking is a particular problem in business, where turf wars might start to develop between departments or divisions of a company. People stop thinking about the bigger picture and start seeking ways of protecting their own area. The focus is all on avoiding the threat. This blocks creativity and can result in opportunities being missed.
Moving Goalposts
This can be a particular challenge where making changes in public bodies, where political influences can result in frequent changes in direction. In these situations it is important to keep the focus on the bigger picture.
Risk and Reward
Any change requires a change in behaviours and new ways of thinking. It also requires some risk. The challenge is that some organisations do not create the environment that encourages some risk taking. Alternatively, risk taking might be encouraged but not rewarded. It is important to align risk and reward when it comes to making change.
In truth there are numerous challenges in making change. Being aware of them is the first step towards making sustainable change.


Duncan Brodie helps individuals and organisations to reach their true potential. Sign up today for his free e-course and monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk

CHANGE IS GOOD........ARE YOU UP FOR IT???

Change Your Life - It All Starts Now!

By Ray Kelly

There is one constant in the universe and that is change. Everyday we wake up, we are not the same person we were the day before. Our skins cells and organ cells have died and been replaced. Yet do we not resist change in different parts in our life. Change is just a circumstance of life. It is a bridge from the old into the new. The question is not whether things will change, it is the question of what do we WANT them to change into.
Many people’s reality is that we do not have power over our life. They feel that they are the victims of circumstance, rather than being in control of their circumstances. You are in the driver’s seat, and you are in control of your life. Life is the reality we make it. If you want a change, you have the power to make it happen.
The first step on the journey toward change is setting a goal. You would not go on vacation with your family and just leave caution to the wind. You have a destination in mind. You might even mark that destination on a map. You can then figure out how to get there. The first step is to decide on the location. Change can occur in spurts. You may not experience things right away, and then all of sudden things happen quickly. Ask your self this honest question. Did you get to where you are in life overnight? Most of the time it took days, months or years to get to the place we are standing in at this moment. Yet we often expect change to occur overnight. While it may be more reinforcing when we see positive change occur, you can find change everyday occurring even if they are small changes. It is all about perception.
Suppose you have decided where you want to be in life. You have a goal set. Now unless you have some magical powers that can transport you to your goal, you must take some kind of action to move you down the path. This is an active process not a passive one. The key to success, however, is to be persistent in action such that action becomes habitual.
It may difficult to accept that we are the creators of our own reality. We may think we are victims of circumstance. You may feel that you are powerless to change. This thought process is usually fueled by fear. There are different kinds of fear. There is the fear of failure. There is fear of success and even fear of the unknown. This fear can paralyze us.
That is not to say that there are not environmental conditions that are not in our control. Nevertheless, this is often an excuse for inaction. You may think it is too hard. Alternatively, maybe it is too scary to change something. You may even feel that you do not have the right to make choices over your own life and circumstances. Remember life is about choices. Even inaction is a choice.
Once you make a commitment to a goal, you will be surprised how these excuses seem not to have the power we once thought they did. Suppose there is a woman that is in an abusive situation with her partner. She does not feel she can get away from them. She may feel powerless to get away because they have given the power over to someone else. They are afraid and that fear is used against them everyday. It can be a challenging situation, but women everyday make the choice to get out of these situations and do so successfully. After they are in a better position, they often kick themselves for not acting sooner.
Remember you have the power over your life. Change may be difficult, but often not impossible. Once you have a destination and the will to reach that destination, there is little that can get in your way other than yourself.


Ray Kelly is the trainer that guided both Adro Sarnelli and Chris Garling to their wins on The Biggest Loser Australia. Check out his sites at The Biggest Loser Forum or Weight Loss and High Blood Pressure

CHANGE IS GOOD......YES IT IS!!!

Change - Repeat After Me, "Change Is Good"...........

By Chris King

I mentioned to a woman with whom I work on a quarterly basis that I was moving after living eleven years in the same apartment. She advised, "Just keep repeating `Change Is Good. Change Is Good.'"
I definitely agree. Over those two months, however, I discovered two truths about change. Yes, change may be good for us, however, it is not always easy. And, even though I can count the benefits, there are many others who would rather fight change and complain about it.
With my move and also with the springing of summer, a lot of extra, unforeseen change has taken place. The move wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination. It involved some of the hardest and most physical work I have ever done. I do feel fitter than ever!
But, the good part is that I de-cluttered. I gave boxes and boxes of books to the library for their annual sale. I gave huge bags of clothes (still like new, but seldom worn) to a local shelter. I gave away furniture that didn't fit the style of my new, ultra-modern space. With every belonging now in its new un-crowded location (the closets here are "to die for") I am enjoying the Feng Shui fruits of a clean, uncluttered environment.
On the other hand, change can bring with it new, unexpected challenges. My biggest one was that somehow the wiring for my two business telephone lines kept causing shorts. It would work for one line, but not two. I had been using one for the business phone calls and the other for my Internet connection and/or fax machine.
Ah, yes, "Change Is Good" so there must be a solution. And, there was! I decided to go with DSL, cancel the second line and also my dial-up connection. With help from an excellent 24/7 technology service, I was soon set up - not only with the DSL connection, but also with a Wireless router, so I could also access the Internet on my laptop at the front of the apartment.
How smug I was. That is until I started to send out my bi-weekly e-newsletter to its 3700 recipients and was told that my new service would not allow this under any circumstances. I finally worked it out, but it is still not what I can say is perfect. The good part of this change is that I have learned a huge amount more about computer usage. And to help facilitate, I have re-subscribed to my dial-up service for mailing days.
Now, for the complainers of change.
In the midst of all of my personal change and changes, the fitness club where I teach decided to cut back classes and length of classes for the summer months. Because I teach more classes than most of the instructors, my class times were changed, one was dropped and a couple were shortened.
Again, I repeated, "Change Is Good" and decided that getting up a half hour earlier than before would give me more time to work on the books I am writing, garden in my new garden and also catch up on reading.
But, oh my! You would not have believed the bitter and angry comments from some of the students. One kept saying that she was not a morning person and that scheduling the classes a half hour earlier would be a "real inconvenience" for her. She and some of the others were almost nasty about it. They didn't want to hear that, "Change Is Good" or that it hadn't been my decision to change the schedule.
Anyway, my question to you is, "How do you deal with change? Do you feel it is good?"
I say, let's welcome change with open arms. It keeps us alive and thriving. It may not be easy and it may inconvenience our lives a bit, but I am convinced that, "Change Is Good!"


Chris King is a free agent, professional speaker, storyteller, writer, website creator / designer, and fitness instructor. Chris has what she calls a "Portfolio Career" -- many different careers at the same time. If you wonder if you could handle and love having a "Portfolio Career" you will find a free assessment to take at http://www.creativekeys.net/portfoliocareertest.htm Sign up for her eclectic E-newsletter, Portfolio Potpourri, at http://www.freelanceliving.com You will find Chris' business website at http://www.creativekeys.biz

CHANGE IS GOOD....BUT YOU MUST MOVE FORWARD !!!

Facing Fears...............

By Kurt Mortensen

One of the leading obstacles to positive, lasting change is fear. First of all, what is this debilitating but alarmingly common emotion? It is anxiety or tension that is caused by danger, apprehension, harm, pain or destruction. Fear stems from sources that can be real or imagined. The danger of unchecked fear is that it becomes a vicious cycle: You shy away from things because you're afraid of them, which in turn deprives you of crucial experience, which in turn feeds your lack of knowledge, which is one of the very things that makes you afraid in the first place.
Whatever the root of the fear is, there is one thing that is always constant: Fear is an emotion, and like any emotion, it can be redirected. Consider the fact that psychiatrists find only two fears in a newborn baby: fear of falling and fear of loud noises. In other words, all other fears are learned, which means they can also be unlearned.
1. Develop a sound knowledge and understanding of what is triggering your fears.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Knowledge is the antidote to fear." This statement is so true. We always hear the saying "the fear of the unknown." I'm sure you can think of several examples, both historically and in modern times, of people who responded irrationally to situations and to people they didn't understand. Has this type of response ever proven to be a good thing? I can't personally think of a time when it has. Knowledge is never going to hurt you. What you don't know, however, will hurt you. In this particular case, knowledge is only going to better equip you to grab your fears by the horns. So, how does one acquire this knowledge? If you don't already know, deep down, what you fear, you've got to pinpoint exactly what you're afraid of. Isolate the fear-inducing thing, person or situation-whatever it is-in writing. Write it down!
2. Ask yourself: What is the worst thing that could happen? Take a serious look at your fear in the face. Is the worst-case scenario a life-and-death situation? Could it even really be considered devastating? And even if it could, will it be more devastating to live an unfulfilled life than to take the chance? You gain strength, courage and confidence with every experience in which you confront your fears, no matter how painful. In retrospect, you are always able to say to yourself, "I lived through this. I made it. I can handle whatever else may come along." Eleanor Roosevelt once very wisely said, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." 3. Allow yourself to feel capable of overcoming your fears. Try to visualize your success, to feel what success would feel like. Success has to be real in your mind before you can make it real in true life. We always hear the saying that "seeing is believing." Well, actually, in a case like this, believing first will mean seeing down the road. You can't achieve what your mind doesn't believe. Martin Luther King said it best: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." When you can see positive transformation, when it becomes a part of you, it will happen. Every time you feel capable and you mentally see yourself making the changes you want to make, a little chunk of internal doubt will erode away. 4. Take decisive action right away. Once you've pinpointed exactly what your fear is, you've mentally confronted the worst-case scenario and you've let yourself work through the emotions of what your success is going to feel like, then you must take immediate and decisive action to diminish and ultimately overcome your fear. Hesitation only allows fear to fester and enlarge. Do something about it, before that fear continues to grow! Taking action will empower you. Doing nothing will just perpetuate your feelings of helplessness. Everyone persuades for a living. There's no way around it. Whether you're a sales professional, an entrepreneur, or even a stay at home parent, if you are unable to convince others to your way of thinking, you will be constantly left behind. Get your free reports at Magnetic Persuasion to make sure that you are not left watching others pass you on the road to success. Donald Trump said it best, "Study the art of persuasion. Practice it. Develop an understanding of its profound value across all aspects of life."
Conclusion..... Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you've seen some success, but think of the times you couldn't get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others.


Kurt Mortensen’s trademark is Magnetic Persuasion; rather than convincing others, he teaches that you should attract them, just like a magnet attracts metal filings. He teaches that sales have changed and the consumer has become exponentially more skeptical and cynical within the last five years. Most persuaders are using only 2 or 3 persuasion techniques when there are actually 120 available! His message and program has helped thousands and will help you achieve unprecedented success in both your business and personal life.
If you are ready to claim your success and learn what only the ultra-prosperous know, begin by going to http://www.PreWealth.com and getting my free report "10 Mistakes That Continue Costing You Thousands." After reading my free report, go to http://www.PreWealth.com/IQ and take the free Persuasion IQ analysis to determine where you rank and what area of the sales cycle you need to improve in order to close every sale!