I was reading the interview that Satya Nadella had with Adam Bryant. As you all know, he is the third Chief Executive of Microsoft after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. As I was reading it, it was so good to see some of his thoughts, his hopes and dreams in looking ahead, seeing what needed to be done. He also gave his thoughts on his predecessor and what he had learnt from him. One thing that caught my attention was that he is in a place where he needs to be instituting change and that change is mandated; it's part of why he is there. Microsoft is going in for a 'One Microsoft culture' and he's the person in the saddle to bring it to that point. It's interesting that when Adam Bryant from New York Times was interviewing him and asked him about how he would bring that about, he said, "The key is to be able to define the purpose of our leadership team and to say why we are here. There are three things that need to be answered:
1. Clarity: What do we want to get done? Are we clear about what we want to achieve?
2. Alignment: Are we aligned in order to be able to get this done?
3. Intensity: Are we pursuing that with intensity? Do we have the passion for this kind of change?
He knows what needs to be done and he knows what needs to be in place to do it. History will be the judge of whether that happened or not. It made me think about all the things that come with change. Change can be very challenging, both in instituting it and accepting a changing environment. When we are called to be a part of change, we face so much of resistance to the change because we look at the change and ask various questions. People have different attitudes or are skeptical about it. We seem to be resistant to the change.
John Maxwell quoted in his book, 'Developing the Leader Within You' where he talks about scurvy. He says, "In 1553, Cartier made his second voyage to Newfoundland. Of his 103-man crew, 100 developed agonizing scurvy and were in great anguish when the Iroquois Indians of Quebec gave them what seemed to be a miraculous cure of an infusion of the bark and leaves of the pine tree. From that point on, many people found that lemon juice was a cure for scurvy. Yet, in spite of many people talking about it and thousands dying (in fact, Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins noted that under his tenure, ten thousand people in his command had died of scurvy) nothing was done. Then in 1794, Captain Cook realized that when sailors were given a daily ration of lemon juice, it prevented scurvy. Out of 103 who made the trip, not one got scurvy. But it took almost 200 years for people to accept that this change was good and profitable."
Sometimes, that's the way we are too. We look at change and think, "No, I don't think so. I've learnt better. It can't be like this." Or even sometimes we don't think it is necessary. Like Henry Ford, after he had developed Model T, he couldn't think of anything that needed to be changed about it. When people started asking for different colors, he refused. He said, "Customers can have any color they want so long as it's black." He actually fired his chief production man William Knudsen for creating a prototype of Model A which was a low-slung model painted red.
Change is so difficult for us to sometimes take on and be a part of. Maxwell says, "We need to be so careful about change because a wrong decision at the wrong time is equal to disaster. A wrong decision at the right time is a mistake. A right decision at the right place will lead to non-acceptance of that change and a right decision at the right time is the only thing that will lead to success."
Change is so very important for us. It happens in our lives whether we like it our not. We have to be ready for it. Yet, sometimes we get caught napping or sometimes we just refuse to allow that change or sometimes we find it so difficult to institute. The one thing though, that most writers point out, is that if you want to change, you must be able to change yourself. If you want to become a change agent, you must be willing to change.
This was the prayer of a Middle Eastern mystic who said, "I was a missionary when I was young and my prayer to God was 'Lord, give me the energy to change the world.' As I approached middle age and realized that my life was half gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to 'God, give me the grace to change those who come into contact with me just my family and friends, and I shall be satisfied.' Now that I'm an old man and my days are numbered, I've begun to see how foolish I have been. My one prayer now is, 'Lord, give me the grace to change myself.' If I had prayed for this right from the start, I would not have wasted my life."
That's a good question to ask ourselves – Are we willing to change first before trying to be an agent of change? Are we resistant to change?
In his book, John Maxwell has a checklist of which he says, "If you can answer 'Yes' to any of these questions, then change will be easier. But if you answer 'No' or 'Maybe' it usually indicates that change will be difficult. Here is the list of questions; try to answer them as you go through.
· Will this change benefit the followers?
· Is this change compatible with the purpose of the organization?
· Is this change specific and clear?
· Are the top 20% (the influencers) in favor of this change?
· Is it possible to test this change before making a total commitment to it?
· Are physical, financial, and human resources available to make this change?
· Is this change reversible?
· Is this change the next obvious step?
· Does this change have both short- and long-range benefits?
· Is the leadership capable of bringing about this change?
· Does everything else indicate the timing is right?
G.K. Chesterton says, "Don't take the fence down until you know the reason that it was put up."
All this is to say that while change may be inevitable, change is necessary. We must proceed with caution because change is something that people don't naturally have an affinity for. So this morning, maybe there is something happening around you that is calling for change. My prayer is that you will be able to think through this very clearly and carefully.
There's a beautiful song that says, "Be still, my soul!" God is constant in every change and He will abide with us. It is good to know that in times of turmoil, God will not change at all. He is the one constant for all of us. My prayer is that you will be able to sense that He is the anchor in time of change. He is the solid rock on which you can stand.
Let me pray for you. Almighty God. Bless each one on this call. I pray Lord, that you would give to us the courage to embrace the changes that we need to embrace and wisdom to have the right attitude during a time like this. I pray that you would give that wisdom to each one on this call. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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