Clinton ‘n Kate on change

Welcome back to the Clinton ‘n Kate show! Today, we’re talking about change.

kidding…I need to include this caveat from yesterday’s post in order to protect this poor man’s reputation: (Note: Clinton Anderson doesn’t know me from Adam’s house cat, so know that I’m taking his name in vain, poor thing. I’ll do my best to quote him exactly and note where his wisdom ends and my expounding begins. And, yes, I’m going so far as to refer to him by his first name. This will read a lot easier. Plus, I’m older than him.) Poor guy. He probably has a hitch in his step and he can’t figure out why.

Change. That’s the whole reason these problem horses are brought to these clinics. To have Clinton change some undesirable behavior into something safe and workable. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about respect, Clinton seemed to have a checklist of things to consider in order to prepare for change to be implemented.

First, you must have respect, he said. And demanding respect, he explained, isn’t a moral issue, it’s a safety issue. In the literal sense, he meant that if a horse doesn’t have respect for humans, they rebel in ways that can hurt people (biting, pushing, rearing, etc). But, isn’t that true outside the horse world? If a person doesn’t respect their co-workers, there’s really nothing to inspire them to work alongside the team toward project milestones and ultimate timely completion. If a child doesn’t respect their parents, there’s nothing to inspire them to follow the rules of the household or behave nicely. And, while these things may not cause physical harm, these things cause emotional harm to both the child and the parent and can cause bottom line harm to a company. Respect comes first. Clear and non-negotiable leadership must be established.

So, in order to change a bad into a good, you have to start doing things differently. To use Clinton’s words, if you keep doing the same thing, you’re going to keep getting the same thing. Where knowledge runs out, frustration begins, he said. Are you seeing the implied message? Action! In order to see change, you have to move. 

Clinton’s method says that in order to control the horse’s mind, you must create movement, then redirect the movement. This reminds me of the adage ‘An idle mind is the devil’s playground’. Move those feet, Clinton would say as he would push the horse to walk, trot, canter around the arena. Redirect the energy to do bad, toward something good, he said.

Are you thinking of ways you can implement change in your office? Just writing this post, I’ve mentally added about 3 things to my children’s chore list. Throwing a lot of new assignments on a person isn’t what he means…remember where knowledge runs out, frustration begins? Be prepared to coach and train your peeps toward the change you are looking for. You won’t see immediate results, so prepare yourself and your team (or kids) that immediate gratification isn’t the goal. The goal is a long-term, permanent shift away from something uncomfortable or unprofitable toward something that feels good and is safe.

How can you know if the change you are considering is really the right thing? Tune in tomorrow!