Rex Miller

We know and expect others to resist change. We grossly underestimate our resistance to change. On one level I’m pretty good with change. On another level I hate it. I just refinanced our home and received some nice incentives to move my banking to the firm servicing my mortgage. I met with a very nice account representative (we’ll call her Barb) who showed me a wide arrange of services available.

Then I stopped breathing, at least that is what she perceived. I pay all of my bills online through my other bank, I have my direct deposits set up, my kids accounts, my credit card, debit card – and I know exactly who to complain to over there if I wake up and just feel ornery that day.

She saw it written all over my face. Our nice and flowing conversation suddenly became disjointed and fidgety. She immediately jumped in and said, I’ll handle all of those transfers for you, I’ll set up all of your bill payments, I’ll make sure nothing falls through the crack… I could feel oxygen reaching my brain once again.

The reason I began shutting down in the bank is that I was coming to terms with having to change my entire banking mindset; my habits, relationships – everything. Barb became my bridge.

I was with group of Boomer and older leaders. When the topic of Twitter and even texting came up it was – “so what’s the big deal?” As long as it was seen as something irrelevant – no problem. We could talk and joke about it as some kind of anomaly. However, when I showed them what some of their competitors were doing with Twitter and social networking they began to fidget, I could see oxygen leaving their brains. One person said, “The train has left the station and we’re not on it. Now how do we do it?”

I wish I was as prepared as Barb to make the transition smooth for this audience. However, that wasn’t my role for this presentation. I do see a need and a role for these transition specialists. I’m not talking about Organizational Change Consultants – there are a bunch of these and they are expensive. I’m talking about people on a micro level, more personal and ubiquitous.

The best example I can think of are the Apple Genius’ and their One-to-One program. You can sign up and get help on anything as long as that help is remotely related to something Apple.

I’m working on a program with a large institution to develop Reverse Mentors. A cohort of transition specialists like Barb or an Apple Genius.

Okay folks – the change is not going to slow down anytime soon. We will either need to become good at serial-transition or find transition specialists to survive.

Bucky Fuller, the departed genius from Southern Illinois University, prescribed an insightful way to bridge the mindset transition: “…if you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.”

My youngest son, Tyler, found this interesting clip that illustrates the challenge when confronted with something new and foreign. Below is a Youtube clip of the first movie shown in France: “The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat.” It’s less than a minute but when first shown overwhelmed the audience, creating fear and in some cases panic because of a realism never before experienced.

“Hellmuth Karasek in the German magazine Der Spiegel wrote that the film ‘had a particularly lasting impact; yes, it caused fear, terror, even panic.’”

I think the future bodes well for transition specialists, reverse mentors, Geek Squads for living, Apple Genius’ and my account representative, Barb.