Renaissance Man

John Dierckx Christchurch New Zealand

Thoughts on Mastering Change

		Sunday, 25 February 07 - 11:15 PM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Business: Strategy & Management

Introduction

Recently I received the following question in my mailbox: “Do you feel “Mastering Change” can make a difference in your life? If so, how?” That was not to hard to answer since in my view change is life and life is change. For me this is not too hard to imagine since I had some dramatical ones in my life that had to make me cope with changes on a very real and hands on basis.Sometimes the change came because I was looking for it other times some dramatic events resulted in considerable changes whether I liked it or not.

If anything all these experiences and many more have taught me the importance of change, dealing with change and having control over what I consider the inevitable.

Change to some is frightening and they resist other live by it and love anything new and see it as exciting, some even change for the sake of change. Whatever your approach is, change is inevitable if you want to progress and grow on a personal and business level and in some instances change is the only way to survive.

 
Taking this into consideration it is clear to me that where change is inevitable, mastering change, being in control of the change is important. It is important to note that being in control of change is in my view not the same as finding ways to prevent change.

Mastering change is in my view learning that change is inevitable, ensuring that you control the change instead of having the changes control you, in effect if change is inevitable ask yourself how can I make it work for me?

Now there are many great books and programs to do that. I personally benefited considerably from the “Get the Edge” program of Anthony Robbins, the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and Tony Buzan's Embracing Change. All these books are very practical in their approach and work on a personal and business level.

Besides that I found a lot of stimulation in the discussions I had with Hugo Wijtmans of Koru Life Balance, www.korulifebalance.com and the intellectual depths covering basically anything one could think of in the discussions I had with Michael Pokocky, founder of Sophistica, www.sophisticaworld.com, chief-evangelist of ManyWorlds, www.manyworlds.com, the inspiration of many and someone with a fantastic sense of “what's next” and above all a great friend. Besides that there are many others I did not mention here but are or have been just as important.

To me and this is of course personal, acting to change and upon its inevitability comes from one thing: a continuous drive to improve and develop. That is not something new, that has been a constant factor in my entire life and it is only since the immigration to New Zealand that I started becoming more aware of the drivers of that change and the mechanisms that worked for me.

Change & How to Control It:
A  Personal Perspective

Accept the Inevitable

Change in my view implicates action or better yet movement. Now there are many that have that in built sense of staying put, don't move unless you have to. It is even reflected in our language in expressions such as “don't try to repair what is not broken”, or “if it is good, hang on to it”. I tend to respond to that that the only things that don't move are dead things. Yes indeed, don't move because even dead things change or cause change.

The first step in successfully mastering change in my view is to accept that change is inevitable and subsequently find mechanisms to make it work for you. Change is the key driver of progress and growth, so what a difference will it make to each one of us personally if we start seeing that and approach change as an opportunity, look for it because we want to grow, we want to progress embracing change as being a response-able human being.

What I am not saying here is that change comes painless and with joy at all times, not at all: change can be a painful process. It is this fear of pain that is my humble opinion what keeps many people from actively looking for change. It's a mind thing, a matter of focus. What I have found working for me is that the drive to progress and grow continuously has shifted my focus.

I started to focus on the rewards instead of the potential pain, sacrifices. Ask any business man if you had know what energy and investments it would take to build the business you did, would you have done it. I can assure you many will say "never".

It was especially in the dealing with the lows that I found the value of change. As a person I had to grow and progress if only to make sure that I survived. The dramatic change of environment that comes with an immigration was exactly that offered me that opportunity. Would I have know upfront about the pain and suffering I would mist likely never have done it. It was in the not giving up and trying to change my situation for the better that I found the value.  The first step for me was to get annoyed with my situation and myself. Yet they did and acted response-able, used the change in their advantage. At the start however they focussed on the potential and not on the risks, burden and investments.

Get Annoyed

It is easy to drown ytourself in self-pitty when things don't work out, blame the circumstances, and find some lame excuse not to do anything and sink even deeper. Some might wanna add, get a drug and escape so as not to feel the pain. Instead, You could get annoyed with yourself and your situation you are in. For me that works, it helps to get that burst of energy needed to set something in motion. On more than one occassion this set me in the right midframe to set the change in motion. Don't tell yourself you are pissed of with the circumstances, tell yourself what is this I am not determined bymy circumstances, I will do something to change my circumstances: I will be response-able.

If you are honest with yourself, you see that when you are so down about all the misfortune and terrible circumstances, you let your circumstances rule your life and thoughts. You don't take responsibility. It is in facing yourself in honesty that you empower directly to take that responsibility. It is not your circumstances that make your life so miserable, it is you not trying to step out of the misery or change it.

You get annoyed and because of that change is needed. All the rationalisations to not change anything but just be pissed off should not be important anymore. Yes the changes could bring other pains and rewards, but heh, I was in pain and misery already so what could I possibly use.

It is exactly those rationalisations and the pain-avoidance mechanisms so inherent to any human that often stop us from change and progress. You look at yourself and think wow I am starting to get fat, I want lose some weight here. That is getting clarity and desire. Saying I need to lose that weight is an entirely different ball game, you make the change a necessity.

Don't look at yourself and see  that you have “gained a few kilos” say “STOP! My bottom is big enough to serve as a bouncy castle for a class of toddlers” I NEED  to do something about that. The pain coming with the necessity changes to a price you pay on the way towards the reward of losing weight (not eating chocolate, no or very limited alcohol, having to wake up at 5 to go to the gym every morning).

Bottom line getting annoyed is all about changing your wants into needs.

Making your Dream your Destiny

Now when you start thinking about the things you want, people often refer to that as dreaming away, or day dreaming. Dreams are often not reality, that is what we learn in the Netherlands, and there is even a song about it. Whereas that is arguable of course, there is one thing that can be taken from this approach: stop dreaming. Dreaming in the context of this article is about indulging yourself into fantasising how great it would be if this or that. Instead you could make that dream into your destiny: an event or course of events that will inevitably happen. And don't say to yourself I wanna be a millionare tomorrow, but be realistic, and if you want to be a millionaire in the longer run you mist probably can.

You can probably see the difference of approach already. It no longer would be great if things would happen, they will happen! Your noble task now is to ensure that it does happen. The change is inevitable, you just need to control it.

Plan & Act: Create Momentum

The next step is to pick up the responsibility to change. To enhance the success changes make a plan. That is what worked for me anyway. I disliked my job situation and started to make a plan to set up my own business in a completely strange country, with no network or client base at all.

To me that plan is first of all define where you want to be, be honest about where you are and than make road map to bring you from your current place to where you want to be. The plan can change  but you have something to start going on. A plan is always of a temporary nature and is not a fixed thing: remember you are response-able and circumstances change if only because you are executing your plan.

 
It is only after you started acting upon plan that you are actually making changes. Each single little step is a change towards your ever changing end goal. All goals you may ever set are nothing more than an intermediary plateau from which you can set the next forward orientated goals.  With that awareness, you learn to appreciate the process of moving forward: step by step you grow.

Why the plan? To have some sense of direction. Another recommendation. If you feel you can't do that by yourself, seek help. Help could be a book, a friend, your partner, a professional. Whatever you do, make sure that you don't refrain from actually acting and changing just because you don't know how to do it in the way you want it. And that is of course taking into consideration that change is inevitable anyway, so the best thing is to control or master change.

Make a plan, and act. Focus on the rewards instead of the pain and at all times have a target or goal to work to regardless of its temporary nature. Create momentum by taking little steps if large ones are not immediately possible but whatever you do don't sit back, don't sit still.

Set Yourself Up to Win

Now of course you could wander of now and imagine yourself being the one to change the world in some respect, and actually I think we all can. The main thing is, make sure to set achievable targets that stimulate to reach them. If you want (read need) to win the lottery make it your target to buy a ticket each week, perhaps make it a target to spend less on something else and pay the tickets from your savings. That is achievable.

If you need to change your financial situation, make a plan on the many approaches possible there with and without help. Make a plan and set achievable goals and targets. As an example:

I decided I needed my own business, needed to be my own boss. I knew what I wanted to do with that business, investigations and risk management. But above all, I wanted to quit my job and be my own boss.

  This is what the initial plan looked like:

Getting my own business up and running

Why? I need to have the freedom, I need to be my own boss, I need flexibility so I can spend more time with my family, I need the intellectual challenges my current job are not giving me, I need to make more money.

Deadline for startup: three months

Steps to take:

·          research requirements

·          books

·          Internet

·          talk to others in the industry

·          make a business plan

·          get advice

·          lawyer

·          accountant

·          insurance

·          arrange GST number

·          arrange license

·          open bank account for business

·          look for assistance services / government help

·          arrange equipment & facility:

·          computer

·          car

·          binoculars

·          camera

·          phone (mobile)

·          office space (incl. home)

·          PO Box

·          arrange finance or not?

 
This was written down in half an hour and subsequently I started acting upon it. Making a plan was the first step to create that momentum. The next day I started setting target dates within the three months and believe it or not after three months, never having had a business before I was up and running. Most importantly, it was in this process of three months I learned how great it is to actually be working on getting it off the ground, making those little steps along with the big one and create a continuous flow of momentum. I started seeing things differently, I learned a lot along the way in these three months, heck, going to work didn't even feel as bad, cause I knew that I was working on something better in my own time and that this was an ending situation.

I further learned that this approach was helpful to me because it gave me a chance to celebrate the little victories along the way and allowed myself to do so. So I was happy when I bought my first book on business in New Zealand, I was happy when I got my PO Box and happy even when I bought a big garden fence door that would serve as my initial desk. It was in those little victories and celebrating them that I found the energy.

Don't Give Up: Be Flexible, Adapt, Change your Plan

Now another thing I learned over these years is that things don't always go according to plan. Whatever you do don't give up. Mistakes and misfortunes are just as inevitable as change itself. If things don't work out, don't give up, instead learn from it, and adapt your plans and actions and keep on doing this until you found the way in which things do work.

This is the hardest part probably for many. To me it created a different mindset. Where things did not work out, I started seeing that as a point of learning, actually giving me an opportunity to develop and grow. So instead of bing brought down by it, it gave me energy to adapt and change.

Of course I could not back out anymore because it was my destiny to be my own boss, to run my own business. So I changed the plans where things did not work out and believe me when I say that over the years I have been on the verge of giving up more than once and with me many others.

So what kept me going? I NEEDED  to do this because it was my destiny. The only way to fulfill that destiny was to change, to adapt, to be flexible, make new plans and try again. When something is your destiny you can't back down anymore. How can you step away from the inevitable?

Finally

I could most likely go on and write a book on the subject of change and how it affected my life and so forth but that is not the purpose here. Let's revisit the initial question:  Do you feel “Mastering Change” can make a difference in your life? If so, how?” I guess the answer in my case is not to hard to answer: a big YES. Mastering change is essential because it empowers you to control the inevitable in a way that makes it work for you.

In the previous paragraphs I outlined in broad terms what works for me:

●        Accept that change is inevitable and necessary to grow, develop and survive

●        Get annoyed with yourself and your situation to get you in the right mindset for specific changes

●        Change your wants into needs

●        Change your dreams into destiny

●        Plan and set achievable goals

●        Accept that no goal is ever the end goal

●        Act upon your plans

●        Change the plan if things don't work

●        Whatever you do don't give up, instead, change the plans and the course of action, but don't try to deny your destiny, it is as inevitable as change itself

As to the how part of the question, although already answered in part. The bullets above outline how I control change. As far as how mastering change can make a difference in your life I would like to end with a final remark.

Mastering change empowers you to make your dreams become destiny and actually control your own destiny.

Mastering change empowers you to be response-able and take responsibility for your own life, situation and future. Through mastering change you open yourself up to making your responsibility a joy, making your here, now and future a success in all senses of the word.

Thoughts on Chaos

		Sunday, 14 January 07 - 03:17 PM (GMT +12:00) By John Dierckx in Business: Strategy & Management

I received an email yesterday which started of with the following quote

"Classical (western) science is the science of logic, of linearity, of definitions... I believe that where ' classical science stops ', the real fun begins. What I want us to explore is the CHAOS of IDEAS that try to depict this adventurous century and form the roots of the century ahead. Because I am sure that WITHIN THE CHAOS PATTERNNS CAN BE FOUND. And these patterns will enable the formation of STRATEGIC THINKING".

That made me think about chaos: is there actually something like it. Here are some of my thoughts.

I guess the paradox as well as the answer to the approach to chaos of ideas is that CHAOS is a human creation: a concept to help us categorise that which we do not understand yet. There is no such thing as chaos, all there is is (a constellation of) patterns, (a constellation of ) of connections or structures that we as humans have not started to understand yet.  I recently quoted a book of my five year old son in a Star Wars series, How to be a Jedi.  Those who have seen one or more of the Episodes will recall the phrase: "May the Force be with you". The force is subsequently described as "a mysterious energy that connects all living things".

In my view this was very exemplary for what we are discussing here. Chaos in it self is a non existent condition: this is what scientists throughout the world find out on a regular basis, this is what made some of the most prominent atheists believe that there must be something like a higher force, a creator, a God: the identification of sophisticated "patterns", mechanisms,  constructions  throughout  every single thing in nature that cannot have just emerged. Those same patterns and structures however where unknown a century ago.

The graphical depiction of the mathematical chaos theory hardly looks chaotic at all, it appears to be a beautifully designed structure or form. Repetitious patterns emerge and keep on emerging regardless of how far you break things down. It was only recently that I realised a connection I had not seen before. Here in New Zealand, the unfolding leave of a fern is a national symbol. It stands for New Zealand as a nation because of the enormous amounts of ferns but in a symbolic sense it stands for new life. Ever considered the similarities with an unfolding fern leave and the graphical depiction of the chaos theory? Isn't it just remarkable that nature had this depiction of the chaos theory there for us all along in the form of an unfolding fern leaf?

Now what does this tell us all in a more practical sense: that connecting the unconnected is a journey, a path of discovery, a search for knowledge and understanding where we have not been able to see the  way in which things are connected - the patterns and structures - and that is where the unfolding leave stands for wisdom as knowledge that is being applied. Where we discover the those previously unknown connections we will empower and enable ourselves and others to utilise these knew insights and understandings to the creation of what will appear as new concepts, innovative approaches: we stand at the basis of the creation of "new life" or we "help new life that was bound to happen anyway unfold".

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