Monsters and Initiatives

If one doesn't know about something or feel it's tough to do or worse doesn't agree with it, labeling it as monster is the best way to challenge it or worse disown it.

When changes are introduced in a system in the form of new initiatives, what's the typical reaction that can be expected? Here are some which are quite important for a person to know:

• It won't work here... we are different or it has to be done differently here
• We have been doing it this way for years, our system is the best
• We want the initiative the succeed but nothing should change (because of 2)
• Why does it need so much resources? We did it last time with spending almost a fraction of the money being demanded now
• How can you say we need to change? Can you prove it... just last year only we were told that we are doing great
• We want to do it but don't have resources to allocate. Tell us only about the minimum that needs to be done

What should an individual do when caught between the cross-fire of organizational culture (the mascot of 'As Is') and change initiatives (the harbinger of 'To Be')? From the learning and growth perspective, this is generally an excellent opportunity for an individual. A word of caution though, the following points must always be remembered:

• "One should pick the battles wisely"
• "Stretched beyond a certain point all objects will break"
• "One may not flourish in all types of environments"