Which one do you choose – change or irrelevancy?
I absolutely LOVE this statement; “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” (General Shinseki)
Sometimes an organization can’t afford not to change. Because if the organization doesn’t change… then it becomes irrelevant. Instead of promoting change, try focusing on irrelevance.
By the way, irrelevance usually isn’t sudden. It’s more gradual. Your organization just pokes along. Maybe a bit (or a bunch) of benign neglect (see my 07-14-14 blog). A few dashes of change denial.
And gradually, you’re barely there. Then you notice (or maybe not!) that you’re pretty much irrelevant.
Maybe we need to stop promoting change and start proactively avoiding irrelevance. Actually, that’s what good strategic planning does. Good planning tests your relevance, helps you change – or helps you intentionally and gracefully go out of business.
