Page 153 - Make Work Great

When Growth Is Diffi cult

have always been. Which of the two infl uences feels stronger will
depend on the day, who is in the room with you, and your own state
of mind. The reason this book began with the mandate to choose to
choose, the reason it advocates small changes in specifi c patterns of
your behavior, and the reason it focuses on your formation of strong
habits is because those are the tools that keep you on track, even
when the pressure to fall backward gets strong.
At times, that pressure will likely get intense. The people who fol-
low your lead, especially early on, will be in the minority, while those
who don’t wish to change can be quite obvious about it. And those
who are change-averse speak and act with all the alleged authority of
the organization’s shared memory: “It doesn’t matter that this could
be more productive, easier, or more pleasant. It’s not how we do

things around here!” They are all influenced by the members of their
own role sets, more people encouraging them not to change. Remind
yourself in these situations that the alleged authority is based on
nothing more than what someone else did accidentally in the past.
As you progress, you will feel the ebb and fl ow of this reverse
pull. In addition to your well-formed, consistent habits of practicing
overtness and clarity, four other strategies may help you keep moving
forward when your life on the boundary becomes challenging.
First, don’t expect too much. If you expect your whole environment
to embrace your new ideas with open arms, you’re setting yourself
up for disappointment. One excellent reason to try for small victories
fi rst is so that you can build up your confi dence in your new patterns
of behavior. Your habits—your “inner game”—matter most. Don’t
rely on external reinforcement to believe that you’re making intelli-
gent changes. Instead, rely on your habit structures: action-outcome
and stimulus-response.
Second, keep track. Using your notebook to maintain a list of
members, additions in progress, and candidates is a great idea. You
can use the worksheet at the end of this chapter for that purpose. Just
be sure to keep your lists private and be diligent in your intention to
stay selective but not exclusive.

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