Category: Change

Do You Want To

All actions are processes, and all processes can be improved.

Process improvements work best if applied to a process that does not work well and needs improvement.

If we want to improve anything for the better, we first need to consider what we want the output of the better process.  I will always know where the car keys are?  Will I have more free time and money?  The milk does not spoil in the refrigerator?   If we do not know the desired outcome, we are trying to hit what will become a moving target.

We face This problem when we want to improve ourselves.  Suppose a person knows what they desire and has stability in what they usually plan and do. In that case, their processes can be changed and improved.  When a person is unsure or keeps changing their mind, the task can become extremely frustrating.

Anytime someone sets out to improve a process, the first action is to ensure the process needs improvement.  When we want to improve ourselves, we need to know what we want and where we want to go.  If we are not sure, there are places on the internet and in most communities where we can take assessments and talk to professionals (usually for free.)

To change for improvement is to work to better something.  Even ourselves.  Work that feeds our passions is excellent.  We just need to be sure we want to improve the process.

What would you improve?

Changing Jobs

Are you looking for a new job? If you are leaving an old job to do so, I would like you to stop and think for a second. I am not saying you need to keep the old position to show employment. What I am saying is do not separate yourself from one source of income until you have another income to take its place.

Does this mean you will be doing some ‘double-duty’ somewhere along the line? Maybe. Yet other things could be worse.

If you strike out on your own to find a job without adequate funding, you may be making a big mistake. If you are forced to go back to a position you did not like to start with, your dreams might be dashed.

How much money should you have? That depends. Calculate everything you are spending right now and add an extra 5% for inflation. Then add in the costs for training, education, and other expenses to learn a new career field. Then calculate the months to actually find a place to hire you. Double it. If you are going to work for yourself, Double it again. 

Now you have some real numbers to consider. The best-case scenario is you get hired next week, and the next family vacation is paid for. Worst case, at least you planned for it.

Many dream jobs start off as side-gigs for a reason. We do not do well without adequate funding.

What is your dream job?

Changes

It is great to be out there, pushing yourself forward, doing everything within your power to conquer your world. At the same time, you need to remember you have others around you with whom you have activities. Changing your schedule may not help their needs.

Too often, any schedule, no matter how well planned, will fall to the side; it is merely a fact of life. It is essential to realize and ensure no activities or people end up forgotten because of this disruption.

Is it easy? No. Is maintaining the balance doable? With a bit of attention, yes.  Whatever system you use to support your changes and additions, make sure it works for you.

How do you keep up with what is next on your schedule and what is looming down the road?

Change Is Interesting

On the one hand, change drives us forward. Change helps us to discover new ways and allows us to do more things better. Change can be a great ally.

On the other hand, change can also be a time of sadness. We lose what we have come to know and use. Change is a point of momentary confusion towards what is next.

Do not fear change. Look at change as an opportunity to improve.

What has changed for you lately? 

Greed or Fear

I am tired of living in fear of losing a job that does not help me as a person.  I am also not as greedy as others may think.  I measure my wealth in the service I can do for others and the joy I can share.  My goal is to help where and whom I can, stay clear of those who would entrap me to feed their greedy goals, and do my best to live rather than fear.

I do not believe this makes me a pioneer, or a pirate, a mutineer, or just not one who follows money first, a renegade, or just resigned.  I know that in no fear, there is freedom.  Moreover, in not chasing the currency, a public feast of looking at the world through a different set of needs and values appears.

Do I suggest everyone stop work and let the economy come to a halt? Absolutely Not!  I propose that we take the time to look at the person we see in the mirror.  Look closely and see if that person is someone you would like to be.  If not, maybe consider what would help make the person in the mirror equal to your expectations of them.

When you make plans, plan how you can meet your obligations for yourself, your family, friends, and culture while staying true to you.  Being true to yourself is not greedy.  It is planning to reach your full potential.  Greediness would deny your best work to the rest of the world.

Time to Talk

We have had a good discussion this week about change.  Change is going to happen, and nobody can stop it. In attempts to do so, you may end up like a penny on a train track after the freight train has passed. A threat? No, just a fact of life. Change will happen.

If you would like to look a little deeper into change, there’s a book out there called ‘Who Moved My Cheese.’  It is a concise read of 100 and some pages, and if you get an original copy of the book, it comes with a nice placeholder that has several tips to help you deal with change. You have to remember that change is not personal; it happens to us all.

One of the biggest things in change is that you’re not really alone. If you have any worries or confusion, please write to me in the comments, and I will try to help you with them and possibly guide you to resources that will help. Remember, you also have people in your area that can be of great assistance. You can reach out to them, and they can give you good ideas and sound advice.

I thank you for being with me this week. If you ever have questions or would like me to write on something to help you, let me know, and I’ll see what I could do. I’m not sure what next week holds in store, although I imagine it’s going to be something exciting. Until then, please enjoy your weekend.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again soon.

Change with Purpose

Whenever you make a change, you need to change with purpose. Making a change just because you feel like it can leave everyone in a state of confusion. The more significant the move based on a whim, the more considerable the uncertainty. Change must be needed and have a purpose.

That means change requires planning, research, and shared knowledge of what is going on and why. To do less is to invite trouble into the mix. Therefore, it is always good to work as a team and share with outside resources as necessary or advantageous.

This is not just something that can happen to workers, it happens quite often in management. A group of level II managers got together at the plant where I used to work and decided that they were going to rename all of the various conference rooms, training rooms, and other rooms in the plant. They claimed that the rooms needed new names because those spaces had no names in common with each other.  They felt that by renaming the places, there would be a cohesive structure to the type of rooms based on their use.

I happened to be working one day in a conference room they were meeting in, and they proudly told me what they were doing and how great it would be. I thank them and then proceeded to point out to them that the rooms had already been named as such. All the training classrooms were named after various train lines.  All of the larger conference rooms were named after quality control leaders. And the smaller rooms were named after quality control tools.

They looked at me sheepishly, and one said, ”Oh yeah, well, oh well.” It was clear that although they had worked at the plant for years, they really didn’t know or understand it. They went ahead with their plans and renamed the rooms, put up new signage, and laid open confusion for about the next six months while hundreds of people try to understand what new name was given to the room where they needed to go.

The sad part is that after doing this, the plant was closed and moved overseas about a year later. I appreciate the fact that they busied themselves changing room names. I often wonder what they could’ve done that would be more productive in keeping the plant open and workers employed rather than so many jobs being lost.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Do Not Forget Your Change

As we go through our lives, We find changes within ourselves. The 17-year-old who ran track or the 25-year-old who was a scuba diver is not the same person at age 45 or 50. The 65-year-old might love to have the 30-year-old back.

We find ourselves in an ever-changing world. Although many of those changes are from the outside, in the world itself, there is a constant stream of changes happening, coming from ourselves. And we have a choice. We can wail and fight those changes inside or outside of ourselves, or we can stand up and accept those changes while guiding them to do what works best for us.

Change is not always easy, but neither are we. We are here to do our best, to learn, and to help others.  Rather than fighting change, we should study it to find out how it works best for us. Most changes hold positives and negatives within them. If you find the positives, you have a better chance at less stress. Everyone Could use a little less stress in their lives.

You need to know what’s going on around you. Changes happen in your community. Road work and new forms of transportation, and even new entertainment possibilities are only a part of the everchanging landscape. Change does not require anyone to give up reading favorite books, or stop going to favorite shops, or meeting friends for coffee or a drink. Keeping up with change shows that you know what’s going on and that you can make the best decisions for yourself.

This is something to consider. And, consideration starts with you defining yourself.  It’s even good to take some notes just so that you can keep ideas straight. In a sentence, who are you? Then follow-up with a couple of short paragraphs. What are your core beliefs? What do you like? And what do you wish to avoid?

This does not have to be flowery or presidential. It needs to be you on a piece of paper. Only you can write this because you are the only one who knows you that well. No one else has to agree, and you don’t need to show it to anyone if you don’t want to.  This is just a helpful exercise to show you who, and what you are. 

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Don’t Fight Change

There are two facts that we know about in life. Change is going to happen, and change is going to be resisted. No matter how bad the differences are, they will happen. No matter how positive changes are, they will be opposed.

Some people may change because they see a  better way and want to use that to their benefit and the benefit of the people who work for them. On the other hand, people are set in their ways. Those facing change find themselves stuck in their comfort zones and do not want to venture out because no matter how bad it is, they know what is going on.

When I was a supervisor at a contract manufacturing plant, we used to work 5:00 in the morning till 5 in the evening and the other shift would work from 5 in the evening to 5the next in the morning. New management took over and changed the hours to 8:00 o’clock to 8:00 For each shift. This allowed people to sleep in a little bit longer in the mornings and be able to spend a bit more time with their families at night. The change was a good move for the workers, and yet you should have heard the screams and excuses.

People told me that they would not be able to come to work on time because of several issues. The chief worry was the traffic. Roads would be blocked with traffic. Therefore, they could never be at work on time. The cries and threatened turmoil continued until the day of change came.

Once the change happened, people were able to get to work on time, they had more rest and more time with their families, and they were happier.  A month after we instituted the change, there were no complaints, and everybody was happier. The workers were content with the change, they had just feared the unknowns that change might bring.

Everyone fears the unknown. You should not never let fear keep you from at least trying a change.  Changes are actually the way we grow. After all, how many of us still live in a cave?

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

You Be The Change

I was once the manager of a shop that repaired and installed equipment for tracking and processing satellite data. I had five supervisors and 25 people working for me. Although the shop ran well, people would always come up with ideas for change. Although everyone approached, especially the supervisors, with a demand.

They wanted to see a change enacted, yet, did not want me to assign them the task to make the change happen. The suggesters felt that I might just assign them the work to make the change happen as a punishment for suggesting it in the first place. They were young and did not understand the importance of having control of the change.

If you are offered the ability and the authority to make a change happen which you want to have made, not only is it more likely to happen, you get to control it to see that it’s done right. If you do it well, everyone notices. Getting something positive done correctly brings you to the attention of those in charge. When the people in command see the good things you can do, more golden opportunities are offered to you, and you have an excellent chance to move up within the organization.

Consider the fact that if you take a new idea and give it to somebody who does not believe in the change, it will not go very far. If you have put in the research and consideration to at least suggest a good idea, why should you not have the excitement of making it happen? The thrill of creating something new and the glory for it happening correctly should be yours.

Imagine working somewhere where if you make a suggestion, it is immediately taken away from you. When you ask about your proposal, later on, you’re told that the hierarchy is going to do something, and you should just be quiet and support the staff and new ways when their version comes out. That would not be very fair at all. You saw what needed to be done and did the work to bring it forward. And someone else receives the triumph.

Think about it.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

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