“(…) it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
– Lewis Caroll, ‘Through the Looking-Glass’.
Modern companies are about constant improvement. We hear a lot about process improvement, striving for operational excellence, lean, six sigma. The goal is not to stay in the same place. To be everywhere but the comfort zone. The reasoning is – “if we won’t trigger change ourselves, change will find us anyway.” And here comes the bad part – it will do so, when we are least prepared.
For companies – competition is usually the trigger.
Does this apply to people, to individuals? Yes. It’s certainly good to be prepared. A common assumption is that we are taking part in a rat race where wealth is the main target – whether we like it or not. If our ability to accept change, to seek change ourselves is a means to grow, to manage our lives more efficiently – that’s better.
For people – growth ought to be the trigger.