EP 15 - Perpetual Motion

If time stood still, we wouldn’t need leaders; but business operates in “perpetual motion”. And with each day that passes, this perpetual motion is pushing us further and further from today's norms (the status quo)...

TRANSCRIPT

Perpetual motion

If time stood still, we wouldn’t need leaders; but business operates in “perpetual motion”. And with each day that passes, this perpetual motion is pushing us further and further from today's norms (the status quo).

It's like a bus ride. The bus makes occasional stops, but it never parks because the bus has a route, and a schedule, and a destination. So it stays in perpetual motion, and it doesn't wait on people.

Business operates the same way!

Getting people “on the bus” is a common business saying. It was popularized by Jim Collins in the book “Good to Great”, where he talked about the importance of getting the right people 'on the bus'. But you've got to influence people to get on the bus, and that takes leadership.

Leadership is all about moving people forward. It's helping them keep pace with the change that comes with perpetual motion.

Here are some tips...

Explain the bus ride to your people.

We're in perpetual motion.

Change is constant.

Plans change!

Products change!

The organization changes!

Our customers change!

We've got to keep moving.

The bus may slow, but it won't stop for long.

Then celebrate the journey, the perpetual motion.

Track your progress, the movement, and acknowledge the positive change.

Don't focus on the destination.

Use short-term objectives.

Set milestones, set a schedule - “when's our next bus stop”?

And keep celebrating the progress, the movement, the perpetual motion forward.

Time keeps moving, and we're all passengers. But we've got to keep up. The bus doesn't wait and we can't stand in place.

One of the most important things you can do as a leader, is to help your people embrace change.

Everyone has an attitude about change, and attitudes are contagious!

The more you talk about change, the better! The more you preview it, explain it, track it, and celebrate it - the better.

You can use the “bus analogy”, or create your own!

You want to help your people anticipate change and view it as a normal course of business.

Remember - Time doesn’t stand still, and that’s why leaders are in such demand!