Change. What a powerful word. For most people the word “change” elicits an immediately reaction. The word “change” has meaning… but what meaning does it have for you?

The study of human nature tells us that change elicits a primordial response of fear or at least caution. Change means things are not going to be the same and our basic instinct is to pull back into a defensive response of fight or flight because if things are not the same then whatever is different could pose a threat to us!

But there are learned change responses or behaviors as well. Some change we welcome, like new versions of our favorite products. This isn’t always true of course, but certainly products that have a high rate of advancement often elicit anticipation. What will the newest gadget or game system look like? What will I be able to do tomorrow that I can’t do today?

Change can also become addictive. Once a certain type of change is registered by us (people) as exciting versus threatening we are drawn to that change. Job changes, partner changes and location changes are examples of change types that can actually become addictive.

Why does change sometimes become addictive? That’s where things get really interesting. Again, back to good old human nature. While we (people) nominally seek stability in our lives lack of change can lead to boredom. What really wakes us up and brings us to life? When something HAPPENS. Something different. Something that is NOT part of stability.

Human Response to Change is Contradictive

Human nature in respect to change is actually contradictive. While we often outwardly seek stability, we internally thirst for change. It’s our nature. That’s just the way it is.

The best place for us to be is where we have a balance of stability and change. That’s a big part of CEMM and one of the foundational concepts responsible for its phenomenal success. The practice of CEMM as taught in the Certified Process Professional program helps us to operate safely within the balance of stability and change. It helps us to observe anything that can be defined as a process from a unique perspective while granting us the permission to challenge those things we instinctively know are not the Right Thing for us to be doing.

A resulting dynamic from this change aspect of CEMM is the key to the future of CEMM. What we are finding is that CEMM practitioners are moving into a state of personal and organizational balance. Organizations are becoming more agile with change being a natural behavior (rather than an imposed directive) without the need to challenge the stability of the organization. We don’t need to Reengineer processes wholesale – instead we become engaged in an ongoing process of continuous improvement that actually enhances stability by clearly aligning these activities with a common process goal.

“Change Balance” Fosters Growth while Maintaining Stability

This change balance is in itself a huge change for us. It’s the first time we’ve had a place to go for help in striking the balance between change and stability that is right for us, the context of our organization, and the external forces (market, economy, etc.) that are the loci of the change pressure we all feel. As these factors change, our CEMM activities change as well keeping us in balance regardless of how things are different (or the rate of change).

So perhaps we should start thinking about CEMM as being the gyroscope of the business – the thing that keeps the organization whole and successful while all of these external forces whirl and swirl around us. That description is probably a lot more accurate than you think.

Customer alignment, advanced process improvement, rapid but balanced change, retention of focus throughout, new observations that help us immediately do the Right Thing for the Right Reason… these are just some of the benefits available from practicing CEMM.

CEMM is elegantly simple and from that elegant simplicity we harvest an array of benefits unlike anything we have experienced before. CEMM is not just for people wanting to Do the Right Thing. CEMM is for people who want to eradicate the barriers to success in days and weeks rather than battle for internal change over months and years.

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