Meridian Coaching & Consulting Blog

A group of CEO’s recently got together to talk about how, in these troubling times, they needed to create transformational change in their organizations.  However, as we explored the topic further, it became clear that the change they were seeking required something more than a change initiative it required deep corporate cultural change.  It reminded me of a repeating topic for discussion here in California.

Let it rain. Hope it snows. Time to conserve. Sound familiar? If you live in California this is a dance that goes on year after year. The newspapers are ready and have the graphics all in place to show how much or how little water has historically been available each year.

This year they are debating whether or not to enlarge the main reservoirs. How much would it cost? How long would it take? Who is going to pay for it?

What is odd to me, about this, is that the decision makers are trying to solve the same old problem by applying the same old assumptions. They want to capture it, store it and then ship it.

A friend of mine collected nearly 300 hundred gallons of water in his backyard over a weekend this past spring. Now that is not a lot of water, in the big picture, but was cheap and easy to do. He changed his paradigm by taking charge of his own situation. He even made a manual that shows others how to do it and he is giving it away for free!

Why is it so hard to challenge old assumptions? We tend to get so locked in to what has happened in the past that we forget to look forward. The past only defines where we are now and can be a very poor predictor of what will work best in the future.

Someone once observed that in order to take in a fresh breath of air – you have to let out the one you are holding. In this time of near constant change, this is a skill we will all need to develop….looking forward instead of holding on to the past.

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