Change is a funny thing
It's all around us, constantly on the go—as human beings, we can feel trapped in these rapids. Adapting to new situations, technologies, economic shifts and ways of doing things is particularly challenging because, well, we’re human. And breaking old habits, routines, behaviours, systems or perspectives goes against our instincts as creatures of habit. Simply put, it's unsettling.
Change is uncomfortable
Yet, discomfort is a necessary part of the change process. It motivates and pushes us to be more attuned to the decisions we make or risks we take. It helps us and our clients learn and grow. The tension and discomfort experienced during change serves as the foundation for all meaningful transformation. That being said, change for the sake of change isn't going to cut it.
Change for the sake of it is empty, valueless even. True change requires more. It craves more. It’s uncomfortable, provocative, disruptive, and unforgettable. Acknowledging this—truly embracing it—is how I elevate what I do from frivolous, empty change to Meaningful Change.
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Change
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Meaningful
The work I do must be meaningful to have any chance of having any kind of impact, be that impact on the audience, impact at checkout or impact on the bottom line. I follow a few simple rules to reach ideas, solutions, strategies and executions that deliver meaningful change.
Make it Disruptive
Disruption has a bad rap and rightfully so. Like change it can be difficult to confront, but if we shy from it it’s unlikely that we’ll ever succeed.
For me, disruption is quite simple: if an approach is able to get someone—someone just like ourselves—to give an ounce of their invaluable attention, it’s worth exploring. It serves as our countermeasure to incrementalism, becoming a catalyst for change.
Be Unforgettable
Unforgettable is emotional. Happy, sad, inspired, uplifted, empowered, pissed off, motivated—when we see or hear something that triggers an emotional response, it burrows into our subconscious. Unforgettable ideas are impactful ideas. Unforgettable ideas instigate change.
Achieving the unforgettable is specifically specific. And specificity is sticky. Not everyone will or should agree with it. But that's the point. Communication that is clear and simple to a specific group with a specific message and a specific goal.
Keep it Simple
The best ideas and ways of working are often simple…even if they don’t start out that way. Like a 100-slide presentation or a zoom call with dozens of participants, complexity gets in the way of pretty much everything, especially meaningful change.
And this applies across the board. Simplifying change reduces the resistance and tension it's often greeted by. Simplifying communication hastens the message. Simplifying processes minimises mistakes. Whether introducing a subtle shift in direction or a massive leap into a new space, simplicity makes change easier to understand, adopt, and implement.
