Change is a threat when done to me, but an opportunity when done by me.
Interpretation
Change can be seen as either a daunting threat or a valuable opportunity, depending on whether it is imposed on us or initiated by us.
In this quote, Rosabeth Moss Kanter highlights the dual nature of change, emphasizing that it is perceived negatively when it is external and uncontrollable, but positively when we take charge of it ourselves. This perspective encourages individuals to embrace change as a proactive force in their lives, suggesting that taking ownership of change allows for growth and new possibilities.
In practice
During a team meeting about project shifts, one could remind members that 'change is a threat when done to me, but an opportunity when done by me' to foster a more positive attitude.
Tribalism reflects strong ethnic or cultural identities that separate members of one group from another, making them loyal to people like them and suspicious of outsiders, which undermines efforts to forge common cause across groups.
Organizational structures that allow divisions and departments to own their turf and people with long tenure to take root creates the same hardened group distinctions as Congressional redistricting to produce homogeneous voting blocs - all of which makes it easier to resist compromise, let alone collaboration.
The way innovating companies are designed leaves ambiguities, overlaps, decision conflicts or decision vacuums in some parts of the organisation. People rail at this, curse it-and invent innovative ways to overcome it.
The boomers' biggest impact will be on eliminating the term 'retirement' and inventing a new stage of life... the new career arc.
The middle of every successful project looks like a disaster.
I've found that small wins, small projects, small differences often make huge differences.
Everything is an experiment until it has a deadline. That gives it a destination, context, and a reason.
May you have a strong foundation when the winds of change shift...and may you be forever young.
To exist is to adapt, and if one could not adapt, one died and made room for those who could.
In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. Now, Heaven knows, anything goes. The world has gone mad today, and good's bad today, and black's white today, and day's night today.
If you try desperately to hang on to something that used to be a success for you, it's going to go away. You have to change.
It's hard to change someone's ideas when they might not even really consciously know that they're being racist, or have racist ideas, just because ballet has been this way for hundreds of years.
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