Urgency in Transition

For many years in the industry it is a popular for integrators to say … “we’re really busy” … For those with whom I know well enough to be candid, I ask them the same thing I’ve tried to ask myself and other peers … “Am I busy making money …or, am I really busy putting out fires”. In other words, we are all prone to keep using the same processes to do what we’ve always done; and, it’s difficult to assume and shake ourselves into understanding that when we try to drive business with outmoded solutions … that is actually a definition of complacency. In the words of John Kotter, the professor and flag bearer for Organizational Change Management, he is saying busyness is not a concern for urgency.“The real solution to the complacency problem is a true sense of urgency. This set of thoughts, feelings, and actions is never associated with an endless list of exhausting activities. It has nothing to do with anxious running from meeting to meeting. It’s not supported by an adrenaline rush that cannot be sustained over time…. True urgency is driven by a deep determination to win, not anxiety about losing.”Kotter, John P.. A Sense of Urgency (p. 6). Harvard Business Review Press. Kindle Edition.