Why tell people you’ve changed?

Johnnie Moore

Johnnie Moore

I’m Johnnie Moore, and I help people work better together

A side note to my last two posts.

A few years ago in response to complete turmoil in my life, I subscribed to boatloads of therapy. This included going on some fairly intense 96 hour retreats which involved a great deal of introspection and challenge. Most people ended those workshops on a high feeling they’d made some useful breakthroughs.

I remember the advice we were given by our hosts. Which was: don’t go back to your families and loved ones yelling about the amazing time you’ve had or how much you’ve changed. Remember that they’ve been leading their own lives too for the last four days. Go back and find out what they’ve been doing… be interested in them.

If you have really changed, they will see that for themselves. There’s no need to tell them.

It strikes me that this would be wise counsel for many corporations that get carried away with their rebrands. If you are really changing, why do you have to tell us about it? Why aren’t you letting us work it out for ourselves?

The answer is usually that advertised change is not real and the announcement itelf is a high risk gamble to try and make something happen.

For me, change is an organic and ongoing process in healthy organisations. No need to brag about it.

Share Post

More Posts

Bunny Bunny

A funny game illustrates what we may be missing in many of our meetings

Leading from the clown

I shot this in a single eight-minute take, which is in the spirit of an experience of Ralf Wetzel’s workshop, Leading from the Clown. Clown training is probably the deepest and most challenging work I’ve done. Enjoy.

Noticing

The power of small gestures and noticing

Small p presence

Getting away from grandiosity or solemnity. small p presence is about being open to the life around us

Small i improv

Facilitation is often about small, subtle acts of noticing and experimenting

More Updates

Emotional debt

Releasing the hidden costs of pent up frustrations

Aliveness

Finding the aliveness below the surface of stuck

Johnnie Moore

Driving Change?

Tom Guariello chatted to me about the notion of “driving change” in organisations and has just uploaded part 1 as a podcast. Neither of us really like the assumptions about

Johnnie Moore

links for 2011-06-23

The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why? by Marcia Angell | The New York Review of Books Fascinating and disturbing review of research suggesting that anti-depressants are either ineffective or dangerously

Johnnie Moore

Even more on “What is marketing?”

Jennifer Rice continues this dialogue. I’ve been thinking about the term “relationship catalyst” as it applies to the marketing department…. I see marketing’s role as catalyzing communication and relationships between

Johnnie Moore

links for 2006-02-05

Joho the Blog: Get Human…The Movie David Weinberger reviews GetHuman… publishing the simple shortcuts to bypass automated phone systems and talk direct to a human being. Just the sort of