February 2006 Post Dinner Summary
Change Management – One Person at a Time Presented by Thomas Mungavan
Sometimes your passion can become your life’s work. Thomas Mungavan started his career working for a large local retail company by helping them manage changes in their organization. He soon realized that although his goal was to help departments and organizations during times of change, he was actually spending most of his time helping individuals adjust to changes in their careers and in their lives. He realized that while so many people dreaded change, he actually felt exhilarated by the challenges encountered during times of change. It was then that Tom decided to start his own company, Change Masters. That was twenty years ago and Tom is still helping people successfully manage change as a way to advance their careers and get more out of life.
It is amazing just how resilient people are to embracing change even if their life depended on it. Tom used the example of a study of patients who were asked to change their diets and lifestyles after a heart attack. Amazingly enough, only about 10 to 15% were successful at changing their lives enough to have made a significant improvement in their health. Just like New Year’s resolutions, they started the process but quickly slid back into their old habits. However, when given a plan which included support groups, specific exercises and follow-up, more than 60% managed to stick to the program long enough to improve their overall health. This was true even though the structured plan was a lot more work than making some simple diet and medication changes.
The difference came down to having clarity of purpose and a strategy of how to reach their goal of good health. Without a clear goal in mind, change can cause a downward spiral of emotions that can attack our hope for the future. When we lose hope of ever achieving our dreams, we begin to doubt our worth and abilities. This in turn makes us feel insecure and may even lead to depression or worse. Tom maintained that by having clear goals and a strategy to adjust to change, we can stop our negative filters that color or cloud our vision. We can even learn to leverage change for our benefit. By knowing that perception is reality, you can learn to work on what people perceive as the truth so you don’t waste your time trying to sell them details to something they might not appreciate or understand. By effective listening to what others have to say, you can learn what they value and expect. For instance, behavior that would be perceived as charming and refreshing for a twenty-five year old engineer might not be appreciated in a thirty-five year old manager. He or she might be labeled immature or as someone who didn’t take the business seriously. We are expected to learn certain things and become wiser as we grow older. This isn’t a negative thing, just a perception. A wise person understands this and leverages it to their advantage.
In summary, Tom stated that there isn’t much that we can do about change. Change is inevitable. What we can control is how we react to it. It’s like being lost in the woods. If you set your sights on an object a long distance away and don’t lose sight of where you are going, you will eventually succeed in finding your way out. If you just keep walking hoping you will find something familiar, you will just go around in circles and not get anywhere.
PS. Besides enjoying two inspirational speeches, meeting attendees also enjoyed delicious Valentine chocolate as special Valentine treat to celebrate Valentine’s day