Change

Change is scary and exhilarating.

Threatening and difficult.

Risky and it brings hope.

Change brings despair.

Change is necessary and inevitable.

Change is good and change is bad.

The threat of change causes wars.

The absence of change causes wars.

Change is beneficial and it is destructive.

What is the truth about change?

All the above!

Conservative “Make no change”

Liberal “Change now”

Which view shall one take?

Make no change even when the change is beneficial

A clearly flawed tactic.

Change Now even when the change is destructive

A clearly flawed tactic.

The tactic more likely to succeed in moving a group to more productivity?

The tactic more likely to succeed in achieving an environment more beneficial?

Bring the opposing views about the proposed change

Together in a nonadversarial manner,

Get rid of ‘who wins and who looses’ thinking.

Strive for mutually beneficial change!

Or mutually beneficial status quo!

Start the conversation defining noncontradictory agreeable goals and objectives.

Refrain from personalizing proposals.

(Avoid conflicting objectives. These require extreme introspection and careful listening!

These must be managed, but need not get in the way of current action toward the non-contradictory.)

Move away from fear of change

And fear of status quo.

Move away from denigrating language even regarding

Those deemed as your enemy.

With respect for those around you

Find common ground.

Find agreeable actions that support the agreeable goals and objectives.

Create a common vocabulary.

Then move with caution away from the intractable status quo

Toward cautious change.

And move away from exhilarating change

Toward balanced reasonable conservation.

Conserve what is best! That which meets needs without harm.

And change what is worst! - That which fails to meet needs,

Or meets need of one while harming another.

Accept change that moves from bad to better

And from good to better.

This is the eternal conflict of our personalities.

Some fear change.

Our self confidence is weak and we are afraid of making a mistake.

Some fear stagnation.

We are overly confident, even arrogant, believing we know better than those who went before!

And some want to consider only their own objectives

With no thought for the objectives of others.

A peaceful group and productive requires that all members of the group

Be open to the needs, desires, goals, and objectives of the others.

Processes which encourage such interaction

Must encourage a genuine “love” for other members of the group.

Differing goals and objectives are manageable.

Contradictory goals and objectives, however, require

Careful work.

Why?

Because contradictory goals and objectives require heart change!!!

Without a change in attitude toward goals and objectives on the part of some

Such contradiction will be ultimately be settled temporarily by a combination of power

And temporary grudging compromise.

(A compromise that yields to contradictory goals without settling the root contradiction

Delays the conflict and perhaps moves the resort to power to a later date.)

And will lead ultimately to another power solution at a later time.

War and more wars over perceived contradictions in view

Most of which are in fact contradictions in vocabulary.

Phrases such as

Any idiot can see ...

I know ...

I have expertise in the field ...

You are not qualified ...

Thoughts that vilify others ...

Behind the scenes vilification of others ...

Building a case with subgroups of the group ...

Without the benefit of the thinking of other groups or subgroups ...

I told you so ... you should have listened.

Your idea was bad the last time ...

Intimidation ...Vilification ...

Insinuation ...Sarcasm ...and deceit ...

Are tactics of the destructive.

Hate ...Anger ...

Fear ...Power ...

Are attitudes of the destructive.

What then are the attitudes and tools of the constructive?

Love ... Joy

Peace ... Patience

Kindness ... Goodness

Faithfulness ... Gentleness

Humility ... Self-control

How do these tools and characteristic compare to:

Self-conceited ... Competitive

Challenging ... Provoking

Irritating ... Envying

Jealous ... Angry

Hatred ... Trickery

One must attempt to use constructive tools

If he intends to constructively build

Rather than to demolish.

And he must listen carefully as one listens to another

For whom he cares!

Let each one evaluate his own tools!

billy R. Masten

02/01/10