Shifting sands

"Despite current ads and slogans, the world doesn't change one person at a time. It changes when networks of relationships form among people who share a common cause and vision of what's possible. This is good news for those of us intent on creating a positive future. Rather than worry about critical mass, our work is to foster critical connections. We don't need to convince large numbers of people to change; instead, we need to connect with kindred spirits. Through these relationships, we will develop the new knowledge, practices, courage and commitment that lead to broad-based change."

Margaret Wheatley

This is a wonderful quote by business guru Margaret Wheatley.

She preaches of the pitfalls of the ‘same old, but better’ techniques employed by many companies when planning their business. What’s missing, she suggests is room for a creative approach, something to shake up the entrenched thinking. It’s about doing the ‘unthinkable’, being brave enough to step outside our conventional ways of working.

This is the kind of thinking that gets me out of bed in the morning!  As right-side of brain creative thinker, I feel particularly uncomfortable with the same old, same old – particularly when it is linked with death by PowerPoint presentations – where better means more slides; or creating brochures just because you feel like you should have one.

We are no longer playing by the same rules. When I began my career in the early 1990s, if I’d come across an interesting quote by Margaret Wheatley, I would have needed some serious intent to go and research about her. Today, having stumbled upon her completely by accident, sitting in the comfort of my own home, I was then reading her articles within seconds. The world shifts. Economies shift. Business shifts. Employee relationships shift.

Scientists concur that the only building block in life is relationships. How well do you understand the relationships, or tribes where you work? What social networks are building behind your back? Is your marketing and sales strategy just trying to make an old strategy better? Is it time for a fresh approach?

Have a think about it!