Change is friction - Change is good! (Podcast 121)

Do you remember 2020?

For me, that year hit like a wall. My overseas work evaporated overnight. Suddenly, I had four young kids at home, my rhythm was gone, and the structures I had built over years just vanished.

It was chaotic. But looking back, that forced stop was the shake-up I needed.

In that silence, I finally opened a folder on my computer called "Long-Term Dreams." Inside was a project I had delayed for a decade: building a coach training program. I always said I'd do it "when work slows down." Well, work didn't slow down. It stopped. And that disruption birthed the program we run today.

This experience gave me a massive Lightbulb Moment Change isn't just a reaction to a problem. Change has inherent value on its own.

We often think we should only change things if they are "broken." We crave stability. We ask, "Why can't we just let things settle for a year?"

But think of a forest fire. It feels destructive. But it clears old growth, allows sunlight to hit the soil, and forces seeds to sprout that would have stayed dormant forever.

I realized this again recently when I accidentally crashed my car into a metal pillar while parking (Whoops.) For a month, our "efficient" family routine was destroyed. We fully embraced all forms of public transport. But you know what? It was really helpful. My 14 year old found a bus connection to school that was as fast as taking the car. And I found new connections with my 6-year-old. We discovered a wild rooster on the way to school we named and looked for every day. The disruption forced us out of a comfortable rut and into a richer experience.

So, here is the lesson:

Sometimes, you need to break a working system just to see what grows in the cracks.

In organizations, we see this with the constant swing between centralization and decentralization. It’s not just about "fixing" the structure. It’s about stirring the pot. It forces new people to talk. It creates new neural pathways in the culture. It future-proofs your adaptability muscles.

( Podcast 121 has just been published on Friday and covers this idea. See below!)

My challenge to you this week:

Don't wait for a crisis (or a metal pillar) to force you to change.

Pick one thing in your life or work that is "working fine" but has become stale. A meeting structure? Your morning route? The way you run your 1:1s?

Disrupt it on purpose. Shake it up not because it's broken, but because the friction itself creates heat. And heat creates energy for something new! Enjoy!!