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Change … and Progress

Ralph Lockhart, President, Biamp Systems, 1st November, 2009

Let’s face it. Change is hard and most people resist change even if they’re not conscious of doing so. However, much of the change in our lives isn’t under our control—it’s forced on us by things outside of our control. Think about the changes that have occurred during the past year that we couldn’t control, such as the serious recession or that many people have lost their jobs.

But we shouldn’t think of change as bad. Through change, we can grow and progress—not in spite of the outside changes, but because of them. The famous evolutionist Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most responsive to change.”

The changes in our nation’s—and the world’s—economic climate can offer all of us marvelous new opportunities, and, of course, serious threats. For example, one of the fastest growing companies in the United States is ZipCar, a company that scatters cars around a city for short-term, automated rental. Tens of thousands of young, professional city dwellers are either selling their cars or not buying cars, choosing instead to rely on public transportation and ZipCar. In turn, these people are saving hundreds of dollars per month compared to owning a car. The major auto manufacturers and conventional rental companies resisted change—and are going bankrupt, struggling financially and relying of taxpayer bailouts.

Some factors to having a car stayed the same, such as people still needed point-to-point transportation. But others changed; the amount of parking space decreased and license fees and fuel costs increased. The companies that changed, even promoted change, progressed. Those that didn’t are now living on the public dole.

Alfred North Whitehead, a mathematician and philosopher, said it best 70 years ago, “The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order.”

We all need to look at our businesses with an eye to distinguish the difference between the fundamentals which do not change, and those things which we must change if we’re to progress.