My car (like yours) has a large windshield for seeing what is ahead and a tiny rearview mirror for seeing what is behind us. I think that is a good design because while driving I can make a lot more use of information about what is up ahead and there isn't much I can do about what is behind me.
The same story applies to navigating through life and through our work. Sure, I want to know if an 18-wheel giant truck is barreling down on me, but if I get distracted by the past and don't pay enough attention to the future, I will probably be in for a crash. (See my posting on reliability by clicking here.)
Yet the future is a source of much anxiety for many of us. I recall doing a little experiment in a seminar I was conducting about the future. I asked the participants to brainstorm words they associate with the future. What happened was quite extraordinary. The first five or so words were clichés: "new, improved, better, fresh, opportunity". Then something happened that I hadn't anticipated. The words turned from positive to negative: "unknown, risk, loss, insecurity, downsizing, more work, chaos". I finally stopped the brainstorming when someone said "death"! I never found out what motivated that contribution but I have always wondered.
The lesson for me is that just below the surface we see change as a minefield where danger lurksand we are at risk - at least when it comes to change imposed by others on us. But hasn't life always required us to deal with change? After all, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus in the century before Christ gave us the doctrine of change: The Only Constant is Change.
But compared to today, change in Heraclitus' time occurred at a much slower pace. Science was in its infancy, communication was primitive compared to today and the world Heraclitus knew was much smaller.
In fact we live in exponential times when changes occurs not like 1+2=2 and 2*2=4 but like 1010= 1,0000,000,000. A few small examples: Thomas Edison inspired by the work of a Frenchman named Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville invented the phonograph in 1877. The recording medium was a cylinder. Later it because a record which rotated at 78 revolutions per minute, later a 33 and 45 RPM version in stereophonic sound. I owned some of each of these types of platters when I was young. We spoke about singles and albums. Then I moved to the 8-track tape, the cassette, the CD and now my music is all on my computer and my iPod. And I have every reason to believe that in less than 10 years the MP3 audio format will be replaced by something smaller and better.
Another example: When I first attended university I took a computer course where we learned to punch rectangular cards that looked like oversized index cards that could be read by the computer - provided we also set up a patch panel which looked like an old telephone switchboard. The computer required a large, specially climate-controlled room if it was to successfully do its "thinking". People were literally asked to top-toe around it (after removing their shoes so as not to bring dust into the room). It was the only room in the building that was air-conditioned, meaning we were more concerned about the "comfort" of the mainframe computer than of the people.
Today I am surrounded by computers which I stick in my briefcase and run in all different environments. Without them my life would be unimaginable. Think about the fears we had over the Y2K phenomenon.
You should take 5 minutes and watch a video about how rapidly our world is changing. It is called "Did You Know". http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2696735/did_you_know/
And I would really like to hear your opinions about change and the changing world. Just go down to the gray box below the Dilbert of the Day, click on the word "comment" and share your thoughts.
“When the winds of change are blowing, some hide in shelters while others build windmills.”
-Herb