“Yes, but what do you do with the resisters? You know, the people who hate change?”
Here’s the secret.
EVERYONE HATES CHANGE!
Story Time
I want you to imagine you’re a caveman. You’ve found yourself a nice cave to live in. In a nice fertile part of the countryside. Plenty of nuts and berries around and you’re up nice and high so you can see danger approaching from a long way off.
Suddenly your friend says, “Maybe we should move caves. I’m sick of this one, I feel like a change”.
You politely decline because you hate change. He goes off without you to find a new cave.
…And then he gets eaten by a sabre tooth tiger!
Yep. This guy ate your friend.
You lived because you hate change. Now you get to have little cavebabies and pass on your change-hating genes. They will pass on their change-hating genes, and so on forever and ever.
THE END
But… if everyone hates change, how did the cavemen become… us?
Well, we might hate change, but everyone I’ve ever met LOVES improvement.
One Model T Ford, coming up
Every teacher I have ever met, without exception, loves improvement. They love when their students improve, the weather improves, when their football team improves.
People. Love. Improvement.
If somebody in your school is resisting change, they are right to do so. Because change gets you eaten by a sabre tooth tiger.
But I can guarantee that nobody in your school will resist improvement.
“But IT IS an improvement and they’re STILL resisting” I hear you say.
Then it’s time for you to do some of this.
Order now and get free steak knives
Really take the time to communicate the improvement. How does this improve my practise?
- Does it make my life easier as a teacher? (Because every teacher will buy that!)
- Does it make my students’ life better? (Because every teacher will buy that!)
- Does it make parents happier? (Because every teacher will buy that!)
If the change you’re selling doesn’t hit any of these marks, then what you’re selling isn’t improvement. You should rethink what you’re trying to change.
Because change without improvement gets you eaten.
