Change is constant. I’ve written a lot about embracing change and new possibilities, and in my endless quest for inspiration I came across this gem of a book: “When Zebras Discover Motorbikes” by Jonathan Frost. Although the book is aimed at leaders and managers who want to improve team performance, I feel it’s applicable to every aspect of life whether at work or at home. Change is a constant part of modern life, and the techniques in the book can be used to enhance both our management and parenting practices to help our employees and children deal with challenges and changes.
The book is a fable about the day the Zebras have discovered the motorcycles and how the lions tried to adjust to the change.
The zebras need to be fast, but the lions only have to be as fast as the slowest zebras. But it all changed when the zebras learned to ride the big bikes. The Lions’ approaches are very familiar to anyone who has ever dealt in organizational changes. The lions’ first three attempts to cope didn’t yield any success:
Waiting for the problem to solve itself and for things to go back to “normal.”
Working more, longer and harder. The lions organized extra hunting parties and worked around the clock.
Redefining success, changing targets. The hunting party met with the king and requested him to “reduce the Zebra budget.”
However, these strategies didn’t work, and the pride remained hungry.
Until the day the lions dug deeper and thought harder to come up with an innovative strategy to beat the zebras. They blocked all the gas stations, and the zebras’ competitive advantage was lost.
The lesson to be learned is that when our world is turned upside down, we should take the opportunity to look at the world form a new perspective and find new ways to live right side up. Change is a process, which many thought leaders claim is not unlike the process of cooking. But since I can't cook to save my life, I’ll use hiking as an analogy for the change process.
The four parts to the hiking process are:
Planning
Gearing-up
Hiking
Recovery
Planning means researching and gathering information about the trail such as landscape, climate, weather, length, and elevation gain, etc.
Gearing-up means getting the right clothing and equipment for the trail and avoiding carrying any unnecessary baggage.
Hiking means more than just putting one foot in front of the other. It requires keen observation of the path and focus on the terrain. The joy of hiking is that there’s always something new to discover.
Recovery means knowing how to relieve aches and pains of those sore muscles and aching joints to be able to go on more challenging hikes and more epic adventures.
Dealing with change is like hiking.
Planning for change means researching and gathering information and facts about anything you may need for the road ahead.
Gearing-up for change means getting the right resources and support and leaving behind any unnecessary emotional baggage.
Making the change requires focus on the goal and a keen observation of the path ahead while being open to new paths and possibilities along the way.
Recovery means giving yourself the time to recover emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially to then keep moving forward and making future changes.
And like in hiking, navigating change along the journey of life, it’s all about the company we keep. Choose wisely.
