Dive into Transition

As far as transitions go, this is a big one. A week ago Friday my cohorts Christy and Dan and I stuffed our company records and office supplies into boxes, ready to move them into a new house I just purchased that will serve as the new Influens office. It's a big one because I waited eleven months for this short sale to come through. It's a big one because after seven years, the Influens office is no longer in my house. This move is a clear marker for the steady growth of our firm. Packing the boxes, as all packing tends to do, evoked waves of unexpected memories and emotion. And now that the boxes are in the new office, I marvel at the empty space that is left in my home. Space for more air to breathe, more creativity, more of a sense of freedom. It's the other side of the transition that I did not expect.  

As far as transitions go, this one's also an easy one. Easy because it's obvious. You can't avoid a move while it happens. And it's easy because the beginning and the end are pretty darn clear. The meaning of it all almost forces itself on you.

In our work with clients, we are often asked to help them prepare for "big" presentations. When we do, we spend a lot of time on transitions. Simple ones, like how you get from one powerpoint slide to the next. Our clients spend a lot more time honing the message of each slide. But the transition from slide to slide is what creates the story we're telling. It makes sense out of the individual messages and coalesces them into a whole. The transitions, more than the individual messages, create meaning.

And these transitions require a deliberate choice. A conscious dive, if you will.

Since it's December, we all face the transition from one year to the next. It's an odd one for me because it's not an organic marker. Our culture tends to force meaning onto this calendar date simply because it arrives, it's inevitable, and it comes with a whole set of rituals.

I feel no need to stay up until midnight. I have no desire to put on garish party hats and blow into screechy noise makers. But here are two dives I am willing to make:

1. Look back over 2011 and contemplate the transitions that occurred. The obvious one, like our move into a new office. And others that may be less apparent, and that I may not have noticed well after they occurred. I may remember the joys or frustrations of those transition times. But more importantly, I look forward to discovering the stories they tell me about my life in 2011.

2. Lest you think I sound like one of those people who don't make commitments around this time of year - well, think again. My friend Philip and I have decided to learn Spanish in 2012. But instead of paying so much attention to speaking Spanish well, I want to focus on the experience of discovering a new language with a friend. The delicious process of trying a new vocabulary in my immediate world - South Florida - where many folks speak Spanish well. The fun I can have with being a beginner at something. That's how my Spanish story will emerge.

Written by Achim Nowak © 2011

The Ultimate Challenge: Change

It is that time of the year, again. The time when resolutions are made and broken even before they are conceptualized in our feeble minds. The time when we yearn for something different, a new beginning, a blank slate. The time when we run amok submerged in wishful thinking and fantasies of all the things we could do if only - and here is when that magical word comes alive - we could change...

Many of us hope that our lives will be better, fuller, richer, more satisfying, with a purpose, with a mission...if we could only change...and so we do change our location, our appearance, our jobs, our partners and spouse. We go as far as changing our religious or spiritual beliefs, and after going through so much turmoil and agony we are still not happy, fulfilled, successful, more spiritual or close to our goal than before. And so we dread change because IT did not do what it was supposed to do - improve our lives.

But here is why we fail: We have forgotten the power of transitions. But aren't these words one and the same? As it turns out, we can differentiate between them by defining change as an external process and transition as an internal one. We can change many things but fail to transition, internally, into our new found status. Take for example, instant gratification thanks to advanced technology. It used to be that if we wanted to purchase a book, we would plan how, when and where we would make it happen. It involved the sweet anticipation of shopping for a pleasurable read. Walking, driving, using public transportation to our favorite bookstore was an adventure. An event. From that, we went from placing orders via snail mail to downloading e-books immediately. Gone are the days were we should, could or would wait for 7, 14 or 21 days to process or receive anything.  

On the other hand, remember the very humble beginning of the e-readers such as kindle or nook? People were almost up in arms! Change felt threatening. We spoke about the love of reading, the feel of the pages in our hands, the smell of leather binding. It was a whole sensory, almost ritualistic experience which we thought could not be replaced by an electronic device. Guess what? Slowly but surely, we transitioned into the e-readers, taking our time, at our own pace. Most importantly, retailers understood the importance of creating habits, rituals and events to ease us into the product. Today, less than four years after introducing Kindle books, Amazon customers are purchasing more Kindle books than all print books, hardcover and paperback, combined.

So what all this has to do with our new year resolutions for change? Three words: transition with rituals. If it's about retirement, being fired, looking for a partner, going on a diet, losing a friend, make sure you do more than just change externally your surroundings or circumstances. In order to have a true and effective transition, we have to do so internally, and with the help of a ritual, an event, an action that will mark the beginning of such transition. Celebrate each milestone on the road to change and allow your mind to get accustomed to its new status.   Change and transition involve the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. If you need a more dramatic view, transition means the death and rebirth of an internal process, be it intellectual or emotional, that will place us in a different state from which different paths emerge that were not present before.

Embrace transitions with curiosity, bravado and respect. Mostly, be patient with yourself and know that you are at the helm of your life transformation, and therefore your own growth. May the New Year bring you all many interesting and challenging transitions. Happy New Year!

Teeny Tiny Steps

I recently attended a holiday networking event where I had the pleasure of meeting Bobette. This vivacious woman was the former president and founder of our local chapter. During our conversation she told us of a client who was afraid of going to see her dentist. The main point of her story made clear that if one takes tiny steps eventually they will get to where they want to go. It took her client four months of doing minute things that led her to finally sit in the dentist's chair. The tiniest step one takes is still valid movement.

Bobette's story stuck with me like a fly to chocolate cake.

Transition is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another". When I read the definition repeatedly, I noticed that movement, development, and evolution could be conceptualized as stages of transition. As I go back to the illustration of tiny steps, it is clear to me that tiny steps are movement. Movement carries energy which results in development. As the development progresses, change occurs. Continual change then leads to an evolvement or evolution.

It is no wonder that when I see the tiniest effort and steps forward in my clients I get stirred with excitement. Take Larry, a client who I have learned so much from. Larry was terrified of speaking up at meetings when he felt passionate about taking action on a specific policy. Speaking at any of his meetings prompted large balls of sweat to run like a waterfall down his face. After about six months of working with him, he was able to gain insight into his symptoms of panic. Slowly he came up with the steps to put his ideas into wording that gave him the needed structure. In the end he was able to express his plans of action in a way that promoted confidence - and he was also able to remain dry.

These tiny steps, judged by some as insufficient, or not enough, spark an energy that is not inertia. As the year reaches to a close and a new year is almost born, we can look at these teeny tiny steps leading towards evolution. For visual folks like me, here's another way of looking at this phenomenon. An avalanche many times starts with teeny tiny pebbles in movement that lead to great changes for a mountain.

Embracing Change
10 Ways to Embrace It      

When it came to change, my father had it licked. His motto was simply "Don't let it happen to you." He proudly wore the same tie he'd had since college. He moved house just three times - ever. But his town and his life were epicenters of low upheaval.  

For most of us, change is an unavoidable fact, something I (re)discovered when, several years back, I lost my job in a shrinking industry. Far from ruining my life, that seismic shift gave me the chance to do two things I had always hoped to do: live in India and learn a new language (Hindi). In the process, I discovered a lot about how to survive when head-rattling transformations are thrust upon you. Here are some of the tricks I picked up along the way.  Read List on RealSimple.com by Katherine Rich>>   

A Revolutionary Change
Making the Workplace More Flexible       

It is time to transform the workplace to reflect the changing realities of society. Demographics of the worldwide workforce have changed-in particular, women's participation has increased-and such shifts are affecting worker needs. But organizations have not adapted to the expanding caretaking responsibilities and work-life balance needs of their employees, and the current workplace paradigm is placing growing stress on individuals and families.  

The majority of workers desire more flexibility in working environments, yet very few have it, either because such programs are not offered or because workers are dissuaded by the continuing stigma or fear of penalty associated with flexibility. Read More>> 

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