Luckily, I have always been someone who embraced change. I say luckily because my world has changed a lot. Over the last 32 years, I have changed schools, cities, workplaces, job functions, homes, cell phone numbers, and friends.
My first real experience with change was when I was elementary school. My family moved the summer between 3rd and 4th grade and I had to change schools. It was traumatic. I made the change, but there was plenty of kicking and screaming (Literally kicking and screaming, usually my classmates). But life went on, I made new friends, and I realized that change wasn’t so bad. More recently, at my last employer, Books-A-Million, in five years I had five different roles (Special Events Manager, Assistant Buyer, Buyer, Director of Special Events and Director of Advertising and Promotions). Man, did we waste some business cards! But I learned a ton, worked for some amazing people, and the depth of experience I accumulated has been wonderful for my career.
Candidly, even though I embrace the process of change, sometimes I do not enjoy the effects of change. And when that happens, I really have to work at staying positive and trying to find the good in the situation. There is always good in the situation, whether it be personal growth or strengthened faith.
I realize that I am probably in the minority here. There are people who are hoping and praying that there world will stay exactly the same. Unfortunately for them, it just won’t happen like that. (You might have read that we announced some pretty significant changes at Thomas Nelson earlier today). So below are a few resources for dealing with change:
Who Moved My Cheese? – A wonderful allegory about dealing with organizational change.
Orbiting the Giant Hairball – My friend and former boss, Jeff Skipper, gave me this book before I started work at Thomas Nelson. It is a hilarious look at how to emerge from the impenetrable mass of rules and systems.
Managing Transitions – Deals with the human side of organizational change.
How do you handle change? Do you have any resources for those who are struggling in the midst of change?
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