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.
The insistence on complete certainty about the full details of global warming-the most serious threat we have ever faced-is actually an effort to avoid facing the awful, uncomfortable truth: that we must act boldly, decisively, comprehensively, and quickly, even before we know every last detail about the crisis. Those who continue to argue that the appropriate response is merely additional research are simply seeking to camouflage timidity or protect their vested interest in the status quo.
If we do nothing, we still get to a post-carbon future, but it will be bleak. However, if we plan the transition, we can have a world that supports robust communities of healthy, creative people and ecosystems with millions of other species.
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.
It's time to move on to the next step in the psychedelic revolution. We've reached a certain point, but we're not moving any more.
I may not be the man I want to be; I may not be the man I ought to be; I may not be the man I could be; I may not be the man I truly can be; but praise God, I'm not the man I once was
I don't like to dwell on the past. I'm interested in Fischerandom now, I am working on a new clock, I'm trying to make chess a more exciting game today. I am not interested in sitting in my rocking chair thinking what I did 10, 20 or 30 years ago.
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