Leadership Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: The 8 Rituals of Visionary Leaders (18 page)

“And why would scaring the living daylights out of me help me do this?” I asked, puzzled by the charade Julian had put me through.

“Because the only way to manage change is to become good at managing the unexpected. In order to thrive in the new economy, where intellectual capital is far more valuable than material
capital, a leader must master the art of being resilient and reacting to unforeseen challenges with grace, agility and speed. Sorry to say, my Mend, but you failed on all counts.” “I don’t follow you.”

“Well, my little experiment back there was designed to shake you up and force you to move out of that region of security I’ve noticed you live your whole life within. From what I gather, you are a creature of routine and never try anything new. You barricade yourself into that massive office of yours and do the same things day in and day out. When something new comes along, a new skill to learn or a new challenge to tackle, you try to delegate it to someone else. At best, you rush to apply the same solutions that have worked in the past to every one of the new problems you encounter. And that’s one of the reasons why your company is on the decline rather than seizing the incredible opportunities this new age of business offers.

“Doing the same things every day will not deliver new results. To change the results you are getting, you must change the things you are doing.
You must transform the way you are leading. Never forget what Einstein said, ‘The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.’ You must think new, higher, bolder thoughts to manage the change that is bombarding your organization in these topsy-turvy times. You need to become good at tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty. You must embrace the change.”

“Is that what you mean by surrendering to change?”

“Yes. For most leaders, there are only two responses to the stress that change inevitably brings: fight or flight. You chose the latter when faced with an unexpected encounter in the woods back there. But there is a third option to managing change and this is
the practice favored by visionary leaders. They surrender to change and, in doing so, use it to their advantage.”

“But isn’t that a contradiction? If you surrender or submit to change, doesn’t that make you the loser?”

“That is the way we think in the West. In the East, however, the sages and Zen masters have adopted a strikingly different mind-set, one that has proven its effectiveness over the centuries.”

“And what might that be?”

“They believe that to conquer, one first must yield. Rather than going against the change, one must go with it. As the ancient philosopher Lao-Tzu said, ‘Softness triumphs over hardness. What is more malleable is always superior over that which is immovable. This is the principle of controlling things by going along with them, of mastery through adaption.’ Rigidly adhering to tradition and outdated ways of doing things will drive a stake right through the heart of your company. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. And he was dead right. Be more flexible, more open and more accepting. Begin to accommodate and align yourself with change. Go with the flow. Be like water,” offered Julian. “C’mon. Let’s go for a walk.”

“Be like water? That’s a new one,” I said, as we headed down to the stream.

“The nature of water is to flow,” Julian observed as he dipped his youthful hand into the bubbling brook. “It goes with the current. It does not resist. It does not hesitate before it yields. But it is also one of the most powerful forces on the earth. Study water and manage the changing currents of modern business like water manages the currents of nature. Rather than viewing change as an adversary, welcome it as a friend.
And then surrender to it
That’s what adaptability is all about.”

“Is adaptability that important?”

“Adaptability is one of the most essential leadership skills of our new information-driven world. The leader who can adapt to change and use it to his or her advantage will have a huge competitive edge. But adaptability is more than just going with the change rather than against it. Adaptability is all about recovering from the anxiety and adversity that change initially brings and then having the flexibility to move ahead vigorously. It’s about seeing failure as nothing more than market research. It’s about understanding that you perfect your abilities by suffering setbacks and that change can allow you and GlobalView to emerge stronger than ever before. It’s about persisting until you get to the place where you have determined you must go. Remember, you can’t learn to sail without tipping the boat over a few times and you can’t learn to play the piano without hitting a few wrong notes. Success is a numbers game and setbacks are a part of it. As the Buddhist saying goes, ‘The arrow that hits the bull’s eye is the result of one hundred misses.’”

“I’ve always wondered why I’ve been so resistant to change. Maybe it’s in my genes,” I joked.

“Actually that’s the perfect explanation,” Julian replied in a serious tone. “Every human being is genetically programmed to resist change and maintain a state of equilibrium. The condition, known as
homeostasis,
evolved naturally over time as a means by which our ancestors could survive constantly changing conditions. When an environmental change occurs in our own lives, our internal mechanisms jump into play to regulate the new influence and return the body to what biologists call a
steady state.
Essentially, the condition of equilibrium we call homeostasis developed from our need for stability and security. The problem is that the mechanism works to
keep things as they are even when more favorable possibilities exist. It doesn’t distinguish between change that would make life better and change that would make things worse. It simply resists all change.”

“That’s fascinating, Julian. You mean to tell me that every single one of us has been genetically designed to resist change?”

“Yes, and that’s why people have such a hard time breaking out of their regions of security. They find it hard to adopt new habits, learn a new skill or cultivate a new attitude. The good news is that homeostats can be reset and change can be embraced. The bad news is that the resetting process always brings stress, pain and a certain amount of fear with it. Your job, as a visionary leader, is to lessen the anxiety by continually reminding your people of why the change is necessary and connecting them to the many benefits that will result from it. Tell them that the change will bring them that much closer to the compelling cause you are all striving toward. Show them how the change will ultimately improve their lives and allow them to be more effective. Make them aware of how the change will help them to serve others and make a deeper contribution. What I’m really saying is help them to master change by giving them the knowledge to change.”

“And how do I go about doing that?”

“That brings me to another of the timeless laws of nature, one that is most prevalent in this lush forest I have the privilege to live in — the Law of Environment. A seed grows into a plant only when the soil, moisture and temperature are favorable. In other words the environment must be ideal. Similarly, to manage change effectively, you, as a visionary leader, must provide the ideal culture in which people can respond positively to change and grow in the process.”

“And what kind of culture would that be?” I asked with great interest.

“You must create a learning culture. You must champion intellectual development. You must foster a workplace that rewards constant learning and skills improvement. You need to let people know that the best way to combat the fear and strain that change invokes is to become knowledgeable about it.
The best antidote for fear is knowledge.
Don’t get lazy about learning. The more prepared and informed your people are, the easier it will be for them to accept and thrive on the change. If you really want to succeed in manifesting your vision for the future into reality, help your people become lifelong learners. To stay competitive in this new era, you must let everyone know they need to be continually learning. Create a corporate culture that inspires them to embrace new ideas and information. And share all the information you have. Remember, Peter, in this day and age,
he or she who learns most wins. “

As Julian climbed back up the bank of the stream and made his way through the lush meadow, he continued to share the leadership wisdom he had acquired about managing change.

“You see, there is joy in change. Without change, there can be no growth. Without change, there can be no improvement. Without change, there would be no progress. Look at this meadow and the forest you came through. It is in a continuous state of change. The leaves fall off the trees and later reappear. The birds hatch as chicks and evolve into adulthood. The seasons change from winter into spring. Even these butterflies are nothing more than caterpillars who learned to change. Understand that change is the way of the world. Change is essential to our evolution as a civilization. It is necessary to our very survival.
Change is

humanity’s best friend.
Ordinary leaders fight it, visionary leaders delight in it. The ancient philosopher Marcus Aurelius captured these sentiments splendidly when he said, ‘Observe always that everything is the result of change, and get used to thinking that there is nothing Nature loves so well as to change existing forms and make new ones like them.’”

“You’ve transformed the way I view change, Julian. I never would have thought that change is governed by the laws of nature and that it is so central, not only to the success of our company but to the progress of our society. Any other lessons on managing change?”

“One just hopped by,” he replied, pointing to a frog with brown spots dotting its dark green back. “My little friend over here is a perfect example of what can happen to you if you decide to wait for large-scale changes to occur in your environment before you make the transition to the new pathways of thought and action that will help you survive.”

“How so?”

“Well, if you take a frog and pop it into a pot of boiling water, what do you think will happen?” “I’d bet it will try to jump out.”

“Correct. Now let me offer you a different scenario. Let’s say we started the frog off in water that was at room temperature and quietly let him relax in it. Then we gradually started turning up the heat until the water became hotter and hotter. What do you think would happen?”

“Don’t tell me the frog would just sit there and do nothing?”

“It sure would, like most organizations do when the change creeping up on them is so incremental that it is easy to ignore. You see, like most companies, the internal system of the frog is only
geared to respond and adapt to sudden environmental changes. So when slow changes like the gradual boiling of the water occur, it fails to react. It actually seems to enjoy itself. Then, when it least expects it, it boils to death, yet another casualty of a complacent mind-set.”

“Great metaphor, Julian. When did you learn so much about biology?”

“I once dated a high school teacher who taught all that kind of stuff. At the time I found it boring, but now I realize that the laws of nature are essentially the laws of life. And the sooner we come to understand them and apply them in our daily lives, the sooner we will be able to use the changes that are pervading society to our own advantage. Remember, either you align yourself with the laws of nature or you’ll find yourself against them.”

“And boiled like our friend the frog,” I added.

“You got it.”

“What else can we do to manage change? I love the lessons you are sharing, Julian. They make so much sense.”

“The leadership laws I’ve revealed to you this morning are all common sense. But most people are just too busy to discover them.”

“So true.”

“Next, I recommend that you encourage
your employees to become massively competent,”
came the quick reply. “It sort of relates to what I was just saying about being a lifelong learner. But it is even more than that. Being massively competent as an employee means that you stop waiting for management to hold your hand and guide you through the change process. Instead, you assume responsibility for yourself and situations that arise. If there are problems in your division, start thinking about ways that
you can fix them. Stop finger-pointing and begin to see yourself as a problem-solver.”

“And what can I do, as the leader, to help people develop this sense of maturity and ownership in their work?”

“The secret is to help them increase their ability to add value. People are rewarded in the marketplace according to the value they add to it. A person who flips hamburgers might be more creative than a CEO who makes a nine-figure annual income, but he is obviously adding less value to the market. As a result, he gets paid far less. By helping your people improve their knowledge and competence, you will allow them to add greater value. You will help them realize that organizational change is not a spectator sport and to survive it, they need to get into the game and make their contributions. In doing so, they will not only raise their levels of confidence and initiative, they will also dramatically reduce the stress they experience.”

“How so?”

“One of the greatest stresses associated with high-velocity change occurs when employees fear they will not be able to keep up and will therefore be seen as less than employable. And yet most organizations still don’t see the value of constant leadership and skills development training. Corporations regularly spend 50 to 70 percent of their money on people’s salaries and yet invest less than 1 percent of their budgets on training them to improve their abilities. It makes no sense. By constantly investing in your people, sending them to training seminars and exposing them to the latest business books, you will sharpen their skills, develop their talents and help them to see that they can actually assume a leading role in effecting change within the organization. You will help them turn weaknesses into strengths. ‘Empty the pennies
from your purse into your mind and your mind will fill your purse with dollars and keep it full forever,’ said Ben Franklin, while Abe Lincoln noted that ‘one’s security in life comes from doing something uncommonly well.’ Spend the money required to make your people leaders in their field. Understand that employee development is an investment, not an expense. Know that
the growth of your company is directly proportional to the growth of your people.
By helping your people become so good at what they do that they become indispensable, you will not only boost productivity, you will gain loyalty.”