Hameno

Consistency and change can coexist peacefully. My morning routine is a good example of consistency and change together. I generally leave my house before 7, 6:30 if possible, and arrive to work by 8 or before. I am very consistent in this manner, and don’t like it much if this has to change for some reason. But, I mix up the way I get to work. When people ask me how I get to work, I say (truthfully) that there are a number of different ways for me to get to work and it changes regularly. (brown line to red line, brown line to the end stop, brown line to an earlier stop and walk, bus to red line, bus to bus).  I get all agitated if I take the same way to work every day, if it becomes too routine.

Similarly, we are talking about a new product at work, and a new way of looking at things. I find that our discussions have a common theme, which centers around how much to change and how much to maintain consistency with the old ways. Sometimes I find my point of discussion is that if we really want to advance, change is necessary. But then I also find myself complaining about not being consistent. I guess this is one of the major points of managing change - change enough so that we grow, but don’t change so radically that we don’t recognize or understand the new. Managing this stress gracefully is important for successful change.