Earlier this week, I had a posting entitled ”Survival isn’t Mandatory” in which I made the case that change isn’t “essential” in the sense that you can always choose to become obsolete.
This is not to say, however, that I believe in change just for change’s sake.
A case in point can be found in the European Parliament’s decision yesterday to allow Britain and Ireland to keep their old imperial measurements in order that pubs can keep serving pints of bitter to their patrons and road signs can show miles instead of kilometers. While I think it is unfortunate that Britain is refusing to change (as is the United States with regard to the metric system), I don’t think anyone really benefits from imposing changes that strike at people’s traditions or which have a strong emotional component.
Better to pick your fights over issues that truly are important. As one of my leadership heroes, General George C. Marshall, once said of his dealings with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, I had a habit of “swallowing the little things in order to go to bat on the big ones.”
It is good advice. Tomorrow’s exponential economy will introduce an inordinant amount of change—to prosper people and organizations will need to focus on incorporating those changes which are most essential to their survival.
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Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.
