Every organization and corporation from small to large scale invariably goes through a cycle of change over a period of time, it is only natural. A cycle of birth, growth, maturity, decline and eventually death, that is unless one is willing to embrace a new vision, idea or prototype and be ready to implement. This is where the business must reinvent itself and adapt to change to stay alive and ahead.
Marketing agencies know too well that markets can be unpredictable. The law of supply and demand is never constant and has its ups and downs. When a product or concept is going through a decline, in other words if sales of Kit Kat chocolate or Surf Excel washing powder seem to be dropping, then that is the most crucial moment to inject new ideas into these products in order to hold onto current customers and attract new ones. Even if Kit Kat is only just a bit chunkier, or Surf Excel now contains red flakes and not just blue, this will be enough to keep consumers demanding the product! Failure to introduce something new at this moment may see the death of the product, together with a loss of the market share.
The same change cycle is also applicable to individuals. We may find ourselves in the same sort of job and position for years, or even decades and although it provides security on the one hand, on the other it can stump our growth as we become stuck in a rut. This sort of scenario is not healthy for either the individual or the company. This is a very definite sign that we need to reinvent ourselves and change by choice before circumstances force us to change.
Change cycles help us to understand that nothing ever stays the same because change really is the only constant. We can be hired and fired, promoted and demoted within seconds! Praised today and defamed tomorrow. If we remain rigid and unyielding then we will crack when situations get tough. However, if we are willing to reflect inwards, be open to ideas and different perspective and most importantly, be flexible and fluid we may have a better chance of surviving the inevitability of change and coming out stronger and wiser.
Have you ever noticed how the cycles of time are gathering speed? Time is moving so fast that we cannot really hold onto anything! Our days feel shorter. The pace of the world in which we live is getting faster and faster and our to-do list gets longer and longer. In our current age we have indeed become time watchers hoping time does not run out and we either stagnate, a metaphoric death as we struggle to survive, or we adapt. How can we transition from being those who survive to those who excel in this new world order of fast pace change on so many levels; economic, social, environmental, political, technological and spiritual? From being time watchers or even timekeepers to creators of time, those who embrace, adopt and/or adapt to change?
The first lesson of who I can help here, when we remember that we are a human being vs. a human doing. With our preoccupation with action we lose sight of our being-ness, the true wealth of our humanity. We begin to redefine success.
Take moments every hour to just mentally step away from your present reality, breath in, reflect on perspective, purpose and meaning and experience yourself as a being.
Secondly, if we can make our work interesting by finding a deeper meaning and purpose, then our whole attitude will change because we will want to go to work and not be caught in a rut of having to work. Our work should be inspiring and not a cause for our expiry! The way to ensure this is to focus on a spiritual value or principle every day. In an atmosphere that is competitive and hard- core, practicing these spiritual values and principles will deepen our foundation, keep us anchored and help us adapt while we maintain our self-respect.
Values are deeply linked to our purpose. No matter how many cycles we go through as a corporation, or how high the individual climbs the corporate ladder our values and principles will always keep us in check and balanced. Even if our external reality seems a storm of the worst things we believe can happen to us such as being fired from work or sales targets unmet, with these simple steps we know our inner foundation of our values and principles will help us forge ahead.
Its time to reinvent yourself. Let spiritual values and principles form the bedrock of your life and let work remain an inspiration and not a cause for your expiration!
And most importantly, don’t forget to add, to be onto your to-do list!
