New Beginning vs. Old Beginning

January 2009

New Beginning vs. Old Beginning

It was just a few weeks ago I was preparing for a client solution and was re-looking at some change management material and noted that change guru, William Bridges (I sometimes refer to him as “Wild Bill” for absolutely no justifiable reason) utilized the phrase, New Beginning. I chuckled to myself, “Yeah, as opposed to Old Beginning! Ha.” But wait. A second look and a second thought and it hit me that both new beginnings and old beginnings probably do exist. We choose between the two of them at times.

With 2009 now upon you, you do have a choice about which beginning you will select. If you choose Old Beginning then the treadmill you have been on just turned another model year older. Yes, it’s a new year with new budgets and new calendars to fill, but what are you really ready to change in order to elevate you and your organization? This Old Beginning requires adherence to a status quo that promises an exchange rate that can be tempting at times. You stay the same, reduce risk and in return, you’ll receive some comfort. After all, this economy is pretty scary.

If you choose New Beginning, then you’re ready to say good bye to some of the old artifacts of comfort. What must change in order for you and/or your organization to truly move forward? Some things must be dropped and some things added. Now may very well be the best time to send that old treadmill to the junkyard.

Organizations can ill-afford to sit back and passively wait and neither can individuals. I was at a local breakfast gathering recently of some of this area’s finest leaders and a gifted local banker stated that, “Fortunes have been lost during the past few months, but in the days ahead, many fortunes will be made.” This is a time of unprecedented, complex change and opportunity.

With the Florida unemployment rate at 7.3% (4.4% a year ago), one would think that talent management just got easier. It has not. In the months ahead, The Edge will look at talent management and leadership development demands upon the organization. We’ll look at retention, developing mission-occupied talent and items related to team and individual excellence.

New Beginning . . . may this year be yours.