"You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea."
Pearl S Buck
The older we get the less change we want to see, possibly because we don't like the change we see in ourselves??
One semester of college psychology so long ago I can't recall the year, not to mention what I "learned", means I probably shouldn't even ask that question. But it is established that for most, the older we get the less comfortable we are about change.
You would think that change would be ingrained in us because of the fact that we do get older all the way to seeing four seasons come and go year, after year, after year. However . . .
So in business, how do we know we are resisting new thinking for good reason and not just because we don't feel comfortable with something new?
One semester of college psychology so long ago I can't recall the year, not to mention what I "learned", means I probably shouldn't even ask that question. But it is established that for most, the older we get the less comfortable we are about change.
You would think that change would be ingrained in us because of the fact that we do get older all the way to seeing four seasons come and go year, after year, after year. However . . .
So in business, how do we know we are resisting new thinking for good reason and not just because we don't feel comfortable with something new?
Earlier posts have talked about the need to get opinion from a variety of sources and I think doing that will help a manager determine if they are resisting new thinking for good reason, or not. If consensus sees things one way and the manager the other they should reconsider their conclusions.
ReplyDeleteLet me add that it is a good idea to resist thinking in absolutes. Things like "No one will like that" or "Everyone is going to want one of those."
ReplyDeleteI can't think of anything that "everyone" either did or didn't like or want, "always", "never" or "ever".
However the fact that I can't doesn't mean it doesn't happen, only that I can't think of an example where that is true.
And saying I can't "think of anything", as opposed to having said, "There is nothing . . .", saved my statement from being an absolute, leaving the door open for someone to educate me, possibly leading to a better decision than would otherwise occur.