Only risk takers eat fruit hidden in disruptive change

Sun Tzu was a Chinese general and philosopher who lived more than 2,000 years ago and is most known for writing The Art of War.

Sun Tzu often wrote about the importance of strategy and the wisdom that he shared is applicable today whether you’re referring to business, sports, or military endeavours.

In his classic work, Sun Tzu wrote about the importance of observing signs of the enemy. For example, he wrote that moving in a forest indicated that the enemy is advancing, and that dust that rose in a high column indicated the approach of chariots.

Few armies fight with chariots these days, but the principles Sun Tzu wrote about apply just as much to our situation in Kenya today.

Recognising that change happens is desirable. It’s even better, though, to recognise when change might be occurring in our own specific situation.

Since “set-top-box” is the word on everyone’s lips, I will use that analogy. Right now, as far as I am concerned, the “set-top box” is not the enemy. It just happens to be one of those puzzling anachronisms, like “record industry,” that seems to persist for no clear reason. Music moved from Vinyl records to MP3 files.

And my crystal ball tells me something different. Clearly, in five years, a majority of households will be getting a big chunk of their TV over the Internet.

As it is, Samsung is already working on a full-fledged television set with all of its Internet smarts built into the set.

Customers can buy the television set equipped with HDMI jacks that support a standard called MHL, or mobile high-definition link. That technology allows your television to be Internet-enabled without needing to be plugged into an electrical outlet itself.

My point is, the set-top-boxes will be gone sooner than you blink. So who is the real enemy? May I suggest that the real enemy is change.

Change is frightening and disruptive. However, with the right attitude and actions, you can find opportunities in that change.

Think about it, change is inevitable. At this very moment, for instance, your body and cells are changing. The earth, economy, technology, how we do business, and even how we communicate is changing. You can choose to resist the changes that are always afoot and ultimately be swept away by them.

Alternatively, you could choose to cooperate with change, adapt to change, and benefit from change all the while stepping into greater levels of your prosperity.

Even small enterprises are multi-faceted and interconnected with their environment and markets in multiple ways. Change affects structures and processes.

It affects different layers of the enterprise. It affects your business and organisational models. Ultimately, enterprises are made and kept alive by humans, and our emotions often run high when it comes to change.

Change is part of everyday life and yet many people find change challenging. If facing new situations fills you with dread, you can help yourself by learning how to embrace change.

To change your life for the better, you have to introduce a foreign element, trigger or change agent. You have to shake things up, do things differently, adopt an improved mindset and be a different person.

Remember the movie Stranger than Fiction? The main character Harold Crick does the same things in exactly same time for years. He leads a completely dull, extremely predictable, and uninteresting life. That is how your life would be without changes.

Start embracing change today. Start living. Once you get things started, you will find change is full of amazing opportunities.

And remember — if there were no change, there would be no butterflies.

Mr Waswa is a management and HR specialist and managing director of Outdoors Africa. E-mail: [email protected].