How many times have you heard, “We have already tried that,” “That doesn’t work in this organization,” “Some things will never change,” or “It has always been done that way."? Each of these statements are the past keeping the future from happening.

Often we accept the past as an excuse to change the future. We get conditioned and find it easier to continue accepting that the past can't or will never change so we accept or tolerate processes and systems that impede our success versus engaging in leading a change effort or even just a discussion on what could be. We tend to resign ourselves to showing up to meetings that maybe, at one time, had value but no longer add value. We show up just because we have a recurring appointment on our calendar. We don’t ask enough “why” we revert to “why bother”.

Your Destination: Success call to action this week? Think differently. Challenge the status quo in a productive way. Start with your calendar and meeting schedule (particularly those “recurring” meetings) and ask why, ask others why, and find a purpose. If there is no real purpose for the meeting, and most feel the same way, then cancel the meeting and find more efficient ways to convey the information.

In addition to the work on your individual change efforts, reach back out to your peers and from the work you might have done from last week’s blog, take your prioritized list and with the three opportunities identified think differently and disruptively on options for change. If you have not worked with your peers yet to identify what's working and what's not, try to this week. Also, explore core processes that often have opportunities for change but seem to exist for years without any focus on improvement. Look to sales, account management, budgeting, planning, forecasting, new product development, et cetera. Challenge the past in each area and see possibilities for change. Lead the change by encouraging different thinking. Be a positive, disruptive force of change that can transform, not just transact. 

Don’t let the past inhibit the future.

For more information on how to more actively engage in your organization join our DESTINATION: SUCCESS page, or contact us!

Cornerstone Learning is a performance and leadership consulting organization that has worked with clients all over the world. Our focus is working with individuals and organizations to create performance solutions that deliver top-tier results by inspiring, enabling, and developing employee-led, leader supported, and organization enabled performance. We are able to successfully deliver this through multiple products and services such as employee surveys, online training, performance assessments, and performance coaching. The goal at Cornerstone Learning is to assist our clients in enabling success by developing a dynamic and customized pathway to deliver role model organizational and personal performance.