Together with my excellent and incredibly attractive
colleagues at Zest (my lawyers have informed me to say), I have been writing
Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accreditation material for a ‘First Line Management’
course during which time my auditory senses drifted onto Absolute Radio and an
old favourite track of mine. I am paraphrasing now but basically let me ask some
questions;
Don’t you like the way, I move when you see
me?
Don’t you like the things that I say?
Don’t you like the way, I dance? Does it bug
you?
Don’t you like the cut of my clothes?
Don’t you like the way, I seem to enjoy it?
Stick my fingers right up your nose!
Or listen to
the song if you prefer
Jean Jacque Burnell and Hugh
Cornwall’s seminal punk band (The Stranglers) had stumbled on something here
because their strapline ‘something better change’ tends to indicate a futuristic
analogy which in 1979 may have been unintended at best, and unimaginable at its
most zealous. There is another
possibility; they both have time travel capabilities and penned the lyrics
based on what life is like for a manager in 2014 or beyond.
In 1979 there were some massive
changes happening; the Ford Cortina MK 2 became the Ford Cortina Mk 3, pubs
were allowed to open past 1030, TV gained a new fourth channel (shrewdly
entitled Channel 4), and some other things around school milk I think? So let’s grade the lyrics from time
travelling punk rockers as if a manager today, because inclusion is powerful
and difficult at the same time; you may not agree with the way somebody moves,
verbalises ideas, dresses or acts, but as a manager (within the realms of
morality or professionalism) do you have any choice? As a manager in 2014 look what you are embracing;
mass immigration, constant legislative updates, austerity fluctuation, global
competition, high tempo risk, political intervention, technological
acceleration, complex employee flexibility and a workforce designed to test you
in all of these spheres.
So ‘something better change’ should
really be ‘everything always changes.’
I recommend many techniques and
skills for being an excellent change manager but not necessarily inserting a
digit into a person’s olfactory gland. Instead
look at your people, admire what the collective brings, grab the differences
and realise the no choice potential.
There will be amazing professions out there that do not even exist yet! Just ask The Stranglers when they get back
from 2054.
“People will try to tell you
that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second,
blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours.” -- Ken Hakuta
