This past spring I learned something very insightful by simply staying alert to my surrounds on my commute to work. It may sound like a cliche but nature has a lot to teach us, if we take a minute to notice. But truly, what can have more insight and lessons on change than nature? Mother nature has literally been dealing with change for millennia. Change is not new to it and we can expect it to have lessons to share on the subject, it thrives on it, just go to your local park and check.
My big lesson was that change may at times be sneaky or elusive but it is never fast. So please let’s all stop talking about the speed of change. There is always more than enough time to detect and deal with change. As an auditor I find this a very useful revelation.
In my opinion, no season beats the spring. I can hardly ever wait for the green leaves to fill the often bare and woody scenery of winter in south Maryland. This year’s spring I was extra eager. I wanted to get to my yard and start working on my plants, the many spring projects I had dreamt about — including the inspirations I drew from binging on YouTube gardening and DIY videos, all winter. So I anxiously took stock of all signs of spring this year. One thing I noticed was that the wooded areas on my daily eight minute drive to the commuter train I take to Washington DC. Each day I stared at the leafless trees wondering when they would change. Gradually, I began noticing the tiny buds on the branches. I wondered to myself when they would fill the space and once more hide the many single family homes just beyond them. It took a good three weeks, and I had stopped paying attention, when suddenly the sight of the homes in the background had disappeared, as I drove by one morning. I quickly reflected back on how the tiny little leaves struggled to fill the space, just a few weeks earlier.
Companies like Eastman Kodak did not disappear in one shot, neither did Blockbuster or has Sears Roebuck today. Their management simply did not see the change coming. We can rest assured that the change did not come fast. Just like in nature, it was slow and steady in the build up and that is why it was not seen. All that is needed to handle change is to stay alert and respond to it. We should worry, when we’re are not detecting change and when we do detect it we should embrace it because it will not go away by us ignoring it.
Nonprofit Auditor 