I took a break from change for half the day yesterday and chaperoned my daughter (8 years old-third grade) on a field trip.
We went to a local farm-Forest Hill Farms in Danville, CA- to learn about agriculture in the Tri-Valley at the turn of the century.
In one module the kids (and me) learned about canning and had the opportunity to draw their own label. And that is where I quickly returned to my change management environment.
I was struck by the many approaches. And fascinated by the connection to similarities with adults “drawing” up change.
Some kids seemed intent on picking the right color.
Some seemed deep in thought- no grabbing of crayons, no words written down, just contemplation.
Some wrote their names, or made up a company name or wrote the product first.
Some were wild and erratic in throwing down the design, some smoothly controlled.
And a few seemed to get a balance between think and act.
Judging the results is of course subjective, but I found that the ones who acted first could not change their course (they used crayons).
The ones who thought too long ran out of time.
The ones who jumped to gathering resources ended up with confusing unbalanced designs.
And not one of them consulted with any of the others.
I came away with two things.
One, I think I have worked with each of their parents or someone just like that.
Two, what a fun team building exercise (and chance for a consultant to quickly gauge a group).