Change, Part 5
Parable:
Millions of years ago people lived in extended families—often with their farm animals—in houses made of wood and thatch. One day, one of these houses caught fire and burned down. A pig was inside and burned along with the house, which was reduced to ashes giving off a smell of fire and of burnt pig. The farmer returned to his house and found the pig. He touched it and burned his fingers, which promptly he put in his mouth to cool them off. In tasting the wonderful taste of roasted pig, cooking was discovered.
Thereafter, when anyone in the village wanted to celebrate, they picked a house, put a pig inside of it, and burned it down.
Moral of the story: If you don’t understand why the pig gets cooked, you are going to waste a lot of houses.
For me, this story truly reflects some of the underlying issues related to change in organizations. It seems so often that we implement changes without a thorough understanding of the issues or the need for change.
What do you think when you reflect on changes you have experienced in your own professional roles?