Making Meaning From Change
November 2020
Last month I had the opportunity to take my first business-related airplane trip of the year. I didn’t enjoy the extended hours of wearing a face mask followed by walking a half-mile with my luggage to pick up my rental car. On the other hand, it was great not having to wait in a long security line as well as picking up a car that had been sanitized, complete with a sticker covering where the car door opened.
During my trip, I participated in a shareholder’s meeting for a family business client that conducted via Zoom because of Covid. This experience was the first and, at times, awkward Zoom call in which the majority of these shareholders had ever participated for any reason. What made it significant is that the success of this experience now allows for much more flexibility, efficiency, and ultimately effectiveness in communication and participation by a key group of individuals. Communication is more important than ever as the company goes through a leadership transition process that involves passing the leadership from the third generation to the fourth generation.
As I reflect on the new, different, and challenging experiences that many of us are being confronted with these days, I am reminded that there are two sides to any change. Many times, if the change is not one that I choose, then I feel and focus on the loss or negative side.
If I am initiating the change, then it is the gain or positive side that I almost exclusively focus on. Often, it takes time to realize the significance of what we have gained despite or even because of our loss. On the other hand, the significance of our losses, some good and some not so good, may only emerge over time as well.
I am reminded of a phrase that I heard years ago, “nothing is totally as it appears to be.” This suggests that there may be much more to be considered in any change, initiated or not, before coming to any conclusion about its long-term significance and value.
Here are two questions that might help in evaluating any change that we are either experiencing
or considering in this most unusual of years:
What really might be gained out of what seems to be or could be a loss?
What might be lost out of what is being gained?
