Summary of the book "The power of change" - By Campbell Macpherson

Key Concepts in this book:

1. Change occurs in a matrix of four possibilities: large or little, self-initiated or forced from the outside.
2. The way people react to major changes usually follows a curve.
3. Some approaches to dealing with the tough parts of a transition curve are better than others.
4. Recognize and rewire the negative mental processes that keep you stuck as a victim.
5. Identify your fear so you can deal with it effectively.
6. With openness, empathy, and a constructive attitude, respond to challenging emotions.
7. Build resilience, establish favourable conditions, and seek aid to increase your chances of success.

Who can benefit the most from this book:

• People who are uncomfortable with change.
• Professionals wanting to make changes in their careers.
• Anyone dealing with unanticipated changes in their lives.

What am I getting out of it? Master your ability to change.

"Change is the only constant." The roots of the statement are unknown, but the concept dates back thousands of years to both Western and Eastern philosophers. It's even more true now, in this era of extraordinary upheaval.

Consider all of the recent upheavals, such as Brexit and the COVID-19 epidemic. Consider all of the present transformations that are projected to intensify in the coming years: global warming, artificial intelligence, automation, genetic manipulation, the gig economy, and so on.

Happiness and success are more important than ever before in adapting to the changes that the world throws at you and taking an active role in bringing about change in your own life. But how do you go about doing that?

• You'll learn the difference between a Burning Platform and a Quantum Leap change in this summary. 
• As well as the typical patterns of how individuals react to change. 
• And the measures you can take to assist yourself cope with the most challenging changes.

1. Change occurs in a matrix of four possibilities: large or little, self-initiated or forced from the outside.

Assume you're standing on the ledge of an offshore oil platform in the North Sea. Looking down, you see a hundred feet below you, dark blue, cruelly cold water swirling. Falling is the last thing you want to do.

Assume, however, that fire is blazing behind you. The fires will not be extinguished. There isn't a ladder in sight. You must immediately exit the platform or you will be burned alive. So, how do you go about it? You leap.

This scenario of a burning platform serves as a dramatic metaphor for one of the four types of transformations that can occur in people's lives. What exactly are they? And how do they relate to your day-to-day life, which fortunately does not include oil platform disasters?

To answer that question, you must first comprehend what the author refers to as the change matrix.

The main point is this: Change occurs in a matrix of four possibilities: large or little, self-initiated or forced from the outside.

There are two basic questions you might ask yourself if you're dealing with a change. First and foremost, does it have a significant or minor impact on your life? Second, did you make the change on your own or was it forced upon you by others or circumstances?

Answering these questions yields four fundamental options, which combine to produce the change matrix — a method of categorizing changes. On the less drastic end of the scale, you could have a tiny change enforced from without, such as your city moving garbage collection days from Tuesday to Thursday. You might also make a tiny, self-initiated alteration, such as obtaining a new haircut.

The impacting side of the matrix is divided in a similar way. You could face a major change that is imposed from without, such as being laid off due to a corporate reorganization. It's referred to as a "Burning Platform" alteration by the author. It's a significant, life-changing event that you didn't pick for yourself, and it typically necessitates an equally major, life-changing response, just like the oil platform fire scenario. Other scenarios could include the death of a loved one, a terrible sickness, or, on a brighter note, winning the lotto.

Alternatively, you could make a significant shift on your own. This is referred to as a Quantum Leap shift by the author. It's one of those watershed occasions in your life when you make a significant change, such as changing careers, getting married, or relocating to a new location.

2. The way people react to major changes usually follows a curve.

Small adjustments are relatively simple to make. However, larger shifts, such as the Burning Platform and Quantum Leap, are a different story. These are life-changing events in the most crucial areas, such as love, health, and profession. As a result, they're extremely personal, emotional, and tough to traverse.

The specifics differ from one major shift to the next, but the basic reactions of people are remarkably predictable. You'd probably react with shock if you found out you had cancer, which is the normal first reaction to a Burning Platform shift. The Burning Platform Change Curve, as it's known, is frequently followed by a succession of following reactions that can be seen as a curve.

The main point here is that people's reactions to major changes tend to follow a curve.

The Burning Platform Change Curve swoops downward after the initial shock, as you plunge into increasingly negative feelings and actions. Denial is the following stage. You say to yourself, "It can't be true; I'm too young for cancer."

When the reality becomes unmistakable, you enter the stage of fury. You scream, waving your fist at the universe, "This is unfair!" Then there's terror. Imaginings of chemotherapy, death, and bereaved loved ones may flood your mind. Finally, you fall into depression — the curve's trough. You can linger there for a while, but soon the curve begins to bend upward. After you've come to terms with the shift and accepted it, you'll be able to go on to the next stage of your life.

Quantum leap changes have their own curve. Assume you've decided to go on a new job path. You are initially ecstatic about the upcoming journey. However, as the curve lowers, you become fearful, wondering, "What if I don't succeed?" Fear follows as you begin to believe, "Oh no, I'm going to fail!" Finally, there's guilt, which you'll feel when you say things like, "Ugh, I should never have resigned from my former job!"

If you don't quite up now, you'll eventually be able to climb out of these negative ideas and feelings by acquiring a sense of rational optimism, which is the next step of the Quantum Leap Change Curve. This is where you rationally admit that your situation is difficult while also telling yourself positively that you can handle it.

But repeating a series of positive self-affirmations isn't enough; you need to back them up with genuine belief in your potential to succeed — the final level of the change curve. Then you'll be ready to accept the change, fully on board and ready to put it into action.

3. Some approaches to dealing with the tough parts of a transition curve are better than others.

What if you could skip straight to the positive stages of your change curve, skipping the bad ones? That may seem pleasant, and it does occur on occasion. But, most of the time, it doesn't – and that's fine. The curves represent normal human responses to change, and this holds true for both their peaks and troughs.

Consider the stage of depression. What motivates you to go through it? Every shift on the Burning Platform entails a loss — whether it's your career, your lover, your health, or something else. Even if the change is for the better, such as a promotion, you're still losing something, such as the familiarity of your previous position.

The natural reaction to a loss is to grieve, and this is what the depression stage is all about. It's a perfectly healthy thing to do, as long as you do it correctly.

The main point is this: Some approaches to dealing with the tough parts of a transition curve are better than others.

There's no way about it: losing hurts. The anguish takes time to fade away. And, as anybody who has ever lost a loved one knows, grieving is an important part of the healing process. You must allow yourself to go through it.

However, you must guard against your grief devolving into self-blame or victimhood, two of the most typical and dangerous paths it can take. Assume that your partner has filed for divorce. This may cause you to blame yourself for your divorce, believing that it is entirely your fault. You could even blame someone other than yourself, such as your ex-partner or in-laws. As a result, you might portray yourself as a helpless victim.

Neither method of thinking is productive or healthy. Regardless of why your marriage ended, you must allow yourself to grieve in order to comprehend, accept, and ultimately move on. Avoiding this process through self-blame and victimhood is a destructive approach to escape it.

Other challenging stages of transformation have similar lessons to learn. Anger, apprehension, and dread are all legitimate and healthy emotions. In fact, you might be justified in feeling these feelings! In any event, avoid repressing or ignoring them. That only makes them worse. You have to let things out and confront them in the open in order to go ahead.

4. Recognize and rewire the negative mental processes that keep you stuck as a victim.

It's one thing to say you should avoid victimhood, express your frustrations, and face your anxieties. It's another thing to really accomplish. So, how do you go about doing it?

Most importantly, don't blindly wish for bad ideas, feelings, or behaviours to vanish on their own. And don't try to fend them off, bottle them up, or chastise yourself for succumbing to them. Instead, acknowledge them and attempt to move them in a more healthy, productive direction. Make sure you're not becoming a victim, to begin with.

The main point is this: Recognize and rewire the negative mental processes that keep you stuck as a victim.

If you've already fallen victim to victimization, don't beat yourself up about it. That's just going to the other end of the self-blame spectrum, which is as unproductive and unhealthy. Rather, begin climbing out of it. How?

To begin, recognize what you're doing and the danger it poses. You absolve yourself of all responsibility or authority over your position by portraying yourself as a helpless victim. Now, there's a chance that this is somewhat true. For example, you may not be accountable for or have any control over the business reorganization that resulted in your dismissal. You do, however, have power over how you react to it. You are disempowering yourself by neglecting this fact. You're placing yourself back in the driver's seat by recalling it.

Consider the victimhood trap as a triangle made up of three persons. There's you, the Victim, to begin with. Then there's the Persecutor, who you believe has wronged you purposefully, such as your boss who fired you. Finally, there is the Rescuer, who treats you as if you are a victim and tries to console you. Maybe it's a colleague or a buddy. They normally mean well and only want to help, but what they end up doing is reinforcing your victimhood.

Reconceptualize the Persecutor as a Challenger and the Rescuer as a Coach to get out of this triangle. For example, you could see your boss as challenging you to take a new step in your career, and you could seek advice from a colleague on how to do so.

5. Identify your fear so you can deal with it effectively.

Assume you've been fired and have decided to establish your own company. Great! That's when you take a Burning Platform change and turn it into a Quantum Leap change. However, you're about to embark on a journey down the Quantum Leap Change Curve.

The thrill of starting a new chapter in your professional life comes first. Then comes apprehension, which quickly turns into full-fledged fear.

What are you terrified of, exactly? Well, the precise answer will be determined by your personality and circumstances. But, in general, it will fall into one of three categories: fear of failure, fear of the unknown, or fear of being held accountable. You'll be able to take action once you've determined which category your fear belongs in.

The main point here is to identify your fear so that you can deal with it effectively.

Because quantum leaps frequently involve large risks, it's reasonable that they can cause fear of failure. What happens if your company fails?

So, what if that's the case? What are the worst-case scenarios? Instead of avoiding this concept, tackle it head-on. Consider it. Outline the likely consequences of failure. The worst-case scenario is rarely the end of the world, but it can appear that way as long as it stays a hazy, unexplored fantasy.

The fear of the unknown is even more obvious. Are you worried that you won't be able to establish a business? So, go ahead and learn how to establish a business! Make some inquiries. Speak with your mentors. Find out what it takes to succeed. Are you concerned that you lack particular abilities? Investigate your alternatives for learning them, and then take action! In other words, rather than seeing your anxieties as excuses to give up, use them as prompts to action and indicators of the next steps you should take.

Finally, the fear of being held accountable boils down to a fear of being incompetent. Consider the possibility that someone suggests a new way to run your company. If you adopt the concept, it could be interpreted as an implicit acknowledgement that something was wrong with the way you were doing things before. This can make you defensive if you read the notion as a criticism and then dismiss it.

But it's typically not a critique; rather, it's a recommendation — a proposal intended to assist you. Instead of seeing it as a danger, consider it as food for contemplation.

6. With openness, empathy, and a constructive attitude, respond to challenging emotions.

Consider what happens if you get through your worries and they turn out to be unfounded. Your company is a resounding success! Congratulations. You're now the CEO of a large corporation with a large number of employees reporting to you.

One day, you decide it's time to take yet another risky step forward: a big firm restructure. That's fantastic! Another Quantum Leap shift - this time for you. However, it will most likely feel like a Burning Platform change to your staff. That implies you can expect them to slide down the Burning Platform Change Curve, reacting angrily and fearfully to your initiative.

So, what are your options? The same rules apply to their emotions as they do to yours: don't repress. Allow, acknowledge, and interact – the more honestly, empathically, and productively you can do so, the better.

The main takeaway is to approach challenging emotions with openness, empathy, and a positive mindset.

If you're in charge, give your team the space and time they need to process the Burning Platform Change Curve's unpleasant feelings. Keep in mind that those feelings are natural and expected. Demonstrate empathy. Your people are going through a difficult time and require your assistance.

Invite them to share their views and feelings with this in mind. Listen to what they have to say and be open to what they have to say. At the very least, they'll be able to get some things off their chests, and you might pick up some useful information, thoughts, and suggestions in the process.

But what if you're not in a position of authority? What if you were one of the workers in the previous example? So, figure out a means to constructively express your anxieties, frustrations, concerns, or doubts. Constructively is the crucial word here. Do not simply spit them out. Unless you have the world's most sympathetic manager, that will almost certainly get you in trouble.

Not only that, but it's also ineffective. At this time, your thoughts and feelings are probably raw and half-baked. You haven't looked them over yet. Before you say anything to anyone else, say it to yourself.

What, for example, do you have reservations about? Is it true that those reservations are well-founded? If you answered yes, go ahead and express your feelings. Just make sure you do it in a respectful, friendly, and helpful manner — and keep in mind that your concerns may turn out to be baseless as more information becomes available.

7. Build resilience, establish favourable conditions, and seek aid to increase your chances of success.

Making a significant shift might face numerous challenges. You're now aware of some of the most significant obstacles you'll face: the Burning Platform's negative emotions and actions, as well as Quantum Leap Change Curves. You also understand how to overcome these obstacles.

But, now that you've decided to make a difference, where do you start? The specifics depend on the type of adjustment you're making. Starting a new business is significantly different from starting a new relationship, for example. However, there are some general measures you should follow to give yourself an advantage when making practically any type of change.

Many of them build on lessons you've already learned, but they go even further to tie the basic principles together into a strong approach to change.

The essential point here is to build resilience, create favourable conditions, and seek aid in order to increase your chances of success.

It is difficult to change. Even once you've gotten beyond the low points of the change curve, you're likely to run through a slew of other roadblocks, hurdles, and annoyances on your way to the finish line. You'll be better able to weather these storms if you're more robust.

Fortunately, resilience is a skill that can be developed. Developing abilities you've already learned about, such as managing your emotions and maintaining control of your agency, are two of the most important methods to cultivate it. Remember that while you may not always be able to control what occurs to you, you can always control how you react to it. Negative events and feelings are unavoidable, but by adopting a thoughtful, positive, and proactive perspective, you can reduce their impact on you.

Have faith in yourself and your abilities to overcome your challenges. However, don't make things harder than they need to be. Change your routines and environment to remove unneeded barriers and create favourable conditions for achievement. If you're attempting to lose weight, for example, you could alter your commute to avoid that fast-food joint that tempts you to cheat on your diet.

Last but not least, don't go it alone. Seek assistance. If you're going through a Burning Platform transition, the best place to get help is from the person or group who is forcing it on you. If that isn't the case, get a coach and enlist the aid of your family and friends.

The fundamental message in this summary is that large changes, whether self-initiated or imposed from without, frequently result in a predictable set of challenging feelings and behaviours. You can, however, anticipate them and learn how to deal with them in a healthy and productive manner.

Here's some additional advice that you can put into practice:

Make a strategy.

You wouldn't start a company without a strategy. Use the same logic on yourself. Create a personal change plan if you want to make – or if you're being forced to make – a significant change in your life. Answer the following questions to get started. What factors, events, or trends contributed to the shift? What are your motivations for wanting it to happen? Or why does it have to happen in the first place? What do you hope to achieve with it in the future? What are the potential ramifications of attaining that goal? What are the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that you'll face along the way? Do a SWOT study on yourself, in other words!