What causes you to change?

You learn something new. Whether through experience or purposeful endeavor, you make the decision to change because of the knowledge you gain.

I believe that change is inevitable. Try as we might, there is little chance of keeping something the same way over time. So things are getting better, or they are getting worse.

Our challenge is to strive for better rather than drift to worse.

There are several pieces of knowledge that help us toward that goal.

1. We measure our results. We each have numbers by which we evaluate whether we are achieving good results. In our business setting, we have units produced, products sold, days we are injury free, accounts collected. You name it. We all have numbers that mean something to us. What are yours!
2. We seek more information. We can learn something every day. There are books and articles to read. Podcasts to listen to. Seminars to attend. Facts from conversations with other people. Nothing new happens without new information.
3. We engage teammates in ideas and discussions on ways to improve. We stop and look together. We ask each other if there is some way to make this better. We experiment with new ways and see what works. We try again the next day.

Here’s a test: look on your experience at home, at work and in the community in the last couple of weeks. What can you point to that has changed for the better in that time frame?

If the answer is “not much”, you’re drifting. Not to something better, but to something worse.

Take a look at your numbers and see what needs improving.

Take a look at your life and see what you need to learn.

Discuss with others their improvement efforts and see if you be inspired.

Choose a new experiment and learn from the effort.