Thursday, May 2, 2013

The change conversation you need to count

Whenever changes happens, even for the better, something needs to, at least in part, come to an end.

Whenever something changes there will be people for whom the former ways worked better.

Whatever change occurs there will be people turning up whom would have fitted better into the previous system.

This is the inevitable risk of change.

Eventually you'll need to look someone in the eye and say that you're heading in a different direction. Even if it doesn't suit them perfectly.

You'll need to explain to someone new that what you provide is now on at an alternate time.

For...
If you change the day of the youth group, it'll clash with someone's music tutor or sports practice.
If you create an alternate family-friendly service, your target core will not only leave their former service but there will still be young families who arrive in the morning.
If you change the night of a small group then it won't mesh with someone's work or university timetable.

This is just one of the, often uncounted, costs of change.

But if the change is well thought out, with a well defined purpose, then the conversation with those "missing out" doesn't have to callously end with "sorry" but a productive invitation to be involved.

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