New Year Resolutions and Change Management | John R Childress ...

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?We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.? ?~Aristotle

After living for over 6 decades, I think I am an expert, or at least experienced enough, in New Year Resolutions. ?As for myself, and I suspect the majority of people around the world, after a month or less, resolutions for change and improvement are long smothered by the weight of previously ingrained habits. ?And habits are powerful forces for a number of reasons, not the least of which is, to most people, habits are invisible. ?We don?t realise we have them, nor do we understand how much of our day-to-day behaviour is driven (dictated) by our habits.

For example: Most men have an habitual way of putting on their trousers. ?One leg always goes in first. ?For me, it is the left leg (I am left-handed after all) then the right leg. Always in this order. ?Don?t ask me why, it?s just a habit. ?But if I consciously decided to try it the other way round, right leg first, then left, it takes great concentration and most of the time, I fall over. ?It?s not just me. ?You try it. ?We have a habit of one leg first when putting on trousers.

Also, if you sit back and cross your arms, there is an habitual way we do this. For me I leadcrossed_arms_by_marivel87-d32fitn with the left arm, which goes over my right arm, with my left wrist under my right bicep. ?Always. ?It?s a habit. ?Go ahead. ?Cross your arms the ?normal? way (for you), then cross then the other way. ?Most people tell me that it feels awkward and uncomfortable to cross their arms the other way round. ?Another habit.

When you stop to think about it, we probably have hundreds of little physical habits that help us get through the day with the least effort and most efficiency. In this case, many of life?s little physical habits are quite useful.

But, when trying to make a change, these little habits can often create significant barriers, especially if they remain at the invisible, or subconscious level. ?Let?s say one of my New Year Resolutions is to wake up earlier and take a 45 minute walk in the morning before my daughter gets up for school. Simple. ?Should be pretty easy.

But unless I become aware of the many habits I have associated with getting up in the joggermorning, my unconscious habits will probably prove stronger than my willpower, especially at 6am on a cold winter morning. The key to success then, is to create new physical habits based on new routines.

For example: ?put all my walking clothes and shoes just at the edge of my bed the night before; move the alarm clock across the room; ?plug my bedside light into a timer set to come on at 6am; have my iPod and headlamp on top of my clothes so I don?t have to search for them; have money in my pocket for a Starbucks coffee at the end of my walk; enlist my wife to give me a good hard shove when the alarm goes off.

All these are process changes to my normal, routine habits of getting up in the morning. ?If you make physical changes that require different behaviours, then unconscious habits can be overcome.

Now, what?s all this got to do with Change Management? ?I think you can see the connection. ?Most change fails because we have new goals and intentions that are up against old ingrained habits.

Much of what we do at work is filled with unconscious habits which have been developed by repeatedly adhering to specific business processes (specific actions steps to accomplish an end result). ?In some cases, the habits continue long after the business process is no longer effective at delivering results. ?The same is true of corporate culture. Much of what we call ?corporate culture? is really a series of physical and mental habits developed by adhering to given business processes and requirements.

bound-with-chainsIt?s nearly impossible break business process habits, mental thought habits or personal physical habits through force of will (or through motivational change workshops). It can be done, but the amount of energy and concentration is large.

The easier way to change business outcomes, and corporate culture, is to install new business processes, reinforce them with recognition and appreciation, and disrupt the old business habits. In a short order of time the new processes will begin to develop new business habits that are more appropriate for the desired outcomes. Here?s a rather dramatic example of culture change.

The first step is to become aware of the habits we have at business that drive daily behaviours, corporate culture, and results.

He who knows why will always win over he who just knows how! ?~Thomas D. Willhite

Tight Lines . . .

john@johnrchildress.com

For over 20 years, John R. Childress was Chief Executive of an international management-consulting firm before retiring to become a novelist. Having written several business books and participated in hundreds of global business assignments, Mr. Childress brings an insider?s understanding of the modern world to his thrillers. ?In 2001 I had the opportunity to ?semi-retire? and so I turned my mind to writing novels. As an American I never was much on history, after all America is not about the past, it?s about the future! Anyway, when I moved into an 11th Century chateau in the south of France I got the history bug and kept wondering why over the centuries we just keep repeating history rather than learning from it. (As you can see I tackle the easy questions).? Educated at Harvard University and the American University of Beirut, he has traveled the world extensively. His writing style is full of intrigue and humor, with exotic locations and an engaging cast of characters. In addition, his works are thought provoking, often probing the darker side of large institutions, corporations and organized religion. A recurring theme in his work is the historical antecedents to modern-day criminal and terrorist activities. ?My novels, whether they be historical thrillers, A Perfect Conspiracy and Pirates Inc., or political thrillers, The Beirut Conspiracy, all have a ?timeless? element to them. I believe that with a deeper insight into historical events, we can better understand the chaos and complexity of the modern world. My fictional novels are all based on real events and situations involving an average individual who gets caught up in a struggle against ruthless criminal organizations. I like to use flash-backs and time-travel techniques to bring historical events into a modern context.?

Source: http://blog.johnrchildress.com/2013/01/07/new-year-resolutions-and-change-management/

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