What Does Ice Skating have to do with how your business Handles Change?
I was a big fan of watching figure skating - to me it was the perfect melding of athleticism, artistry and music. I watched Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Oksana Baiul, Nancy Kerrigan (yes I followed the whole Kerrigan/ Harding drama). They made it look so easy. I envisioned myself gliding effortlessly on the ice, doing spins and maybe even a simple jump or two. I had been good at roller skating, I knew it would be fun, this couldn't be much harder or different... I was in the stage of unconscious incompetence. I had no idea what I didn't know.
So one Saturday afternoon I arranged to go ice skating with some friends. I spent the whole time trying not to wipe out on the ice. I could barely get around the rink without gripping the bar around the edge. I was thankful to escape the experience with only sore ankles and without a trip to the hospital. That afternoon, I crossed the "bridge of discovery". Suddenly I knew that my vision of gliding, spinning and jumping wasn't just a matter of going to the rink and skating a few times. I had moved into the stage of conscious incompetence - I knew I didn't have the skills to skate the way I wanted to.
About 10 years later, one of my daughters wanted to learn to ice skate. So the two of us enrolled in 12 weeks of ice skating lessons together. We learned to glide, stop, fall, turn, skate backwards. During those 12 weeks, I crossed the bridge of learning. This bridge of learning is a tough place to be. What do most people do in this stage? Yes - they quit. It can be uncomfortable to learn new skills and adapt to change. But the learning must occur (add a lot of perseverance at this stage) to develop the needed competence - which brought me to the stage of conscious competence.
Okay, so maybe I wasn't THAT competent, but I could get around a lot better then I used to. I was very aware - "I'm gliding... okay, now I'm going to turn". I knew how to execute the basic skills. After a lot of practice, using those new skills became a habit, which brought me to the stage of unconscious competence. I must refer to those more proficient then me to REALLY demonstrate unconscious competence on the ice. I looked to my instructor who never had to think twice about maneuvering through the rink. I see this demonstrated by the pros that make it look so easy. But even the pros, who so easily demonstrate this unconscious competence, if they don't continue to stay at the forefront of their sport, are left behind. Twenty years ago performing double jumps in the Olympics was enough difficultly level to win the gold. Now doubles are commonplace, the routine must have several triple jumps and be skated flawlessly. Becoming satisfied with the current achievement and not keeping up with the industry takes one on the bridge of complacency which can land you back in unconscious incompetence.
So what does this have to do with businesses in today's current environment? Well, where is your business in the cycles of change? Do you not know what you don't know? Have changing times or changing technologies taken your business, which used to be thriving, into the stage of unconscious incompetence? We've seen this in the printing industry - digital printers and accessibility to printers online have dramatically changed the current market for the printing industry. There are many examples of how technology has sped up these changes. Have you figured out what your business needs to do to adapt, learn and improve in order to be competitive and thrive? Or perhaps you've figured out some areas of improvement, but you're not sure what the most effective way to bring your company through that learning stage and habit forming stage to bring your business to unconscious competence.
We'd be happy to have a conversation about the cycles of change as it relates to your business. We partner with businesses to help them through these cycles of change as quickly and effectively as possible. Give us a call to start the discussion how we can help you accomplish the change that you're looking for in your business.
Julia Robinson
Steller Solutions
Reprinted from the May 2008 "Steller Ezine", an electronic newsletter of Steller Solutions that is full of FREE tips and resources for your business. Subscribe at www.Steller-Solutions.com
