Change is inevitable, Progress is a choice!
(Part Two of Three)
Insight from The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change by Dean Lindsay, the Find Progress in Change Speaker
Dean’s Progress Challenge is being Published 2/4/10 – Advanced Copies available here.
When a new opportunity comes our way, we internalize it, and size it up as Progress or Change. This new opportunity could be starting a new relationship, buying an electronic gadget, working extra hours on a project, getting up to speed on a new product line, working to meet quota, anything. All progress is change, but not all change is progress.
Let’s say I have an upset stomach. “Man, I’ve got a stomachache. Ouch! My stomach is killing me. This has got to change.”
Somebody hears me, walks over, and punches me in the nose. Is that change? Yeah, it’s change. But it’s not progress. Well, maybe to the person who punched me, but not to me.
What may seem like progress (good) to one person or group of people may seem like change (bad) to another. Propaganda, book burning, even war and murder are all thought of as “progress” at some point in the minds of the perpetrators (scary). Because progress is subjective, there is no single factor that clearly determines whether an event represents progress or change.
However, we can say that we:
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Start businesses to progress, not change
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Hire employees to progress, not change
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Work on teams to progress, not change
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Make the tough choices and the tough phone calls to progress, not change
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Keep our cool when dealing with belligerent customers to progress, not change
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Cross the road to progress, not change
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Answer the phone to progress, not change
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Spend our hard-earned money to progress, not change. (We would rather keep our change than change, but will offer our best to progress.)
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Diet and exercise to progress, not change
As we age we realize that slowing change can be progress. Think of the forty-year-old swimmer who manages to equal her performance from five years before. Maintenance is progress in that it avoids change for the worse.
We do not want life-changing products, services, experiences, ideas, and opportunities. We want life-progressing products, services, experiences, ideas and opportunities.We should be careful not to mistake mere change for progress. Just because something is new or flashy does not mean it is right or adds meaning to our lives. And as my friend and fellow author Shama Hyder says, we do live in a “next big thing” world. However, because all progress is change, people who claim to be 100% “resistant to (any) change” are often choosing to be resistant to the possibility of progress.
CHANGE & PROGRESS Questions to Ponder in Next Post.
Be Progress.
Three endorsements for Dean Lindsay’s The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change
“The Progress Challenge is a much needed kick in the pants for all of us. Dean Lindsay’s witty words and questions will wake up your sleeping intentions and challenge you to move forward with purpose in your life. What an enlightening book!”
– Ken Blanchard,
coauthor of The One Minute Manager®
and Leading at a Higher Level
“The Progress Challenge is an excellent guide to both personal and professional success. The book helps the reader understand that change is inevitable, yet progress is a choice. In Lindsay’s words…”be progress”.”
– Jim Keyes
CEO, Blockbuster
“If you desire to become a better leader, I recommend you add Dean Lindsay’s The Progress Challenge to your leadership toolkit. I especially liked the insight into the life and work of Viktor Frankl as well as Dean’s use of humor throughout the book – a valuable and enjoyable read. The Progress Challenge is an honorable challenge that anyone aiming to make a positive difference should take.”
– Ramon F. Baez
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Copies of The Progress Challenge available here.
For Bulk purchase discounts call: 214-457-5656
Contact Dean Lindsay about your next event.
