As you can see, and as I tend to do in these occasional column entries, I’m freely mixing metaphors above. My point, or points, as it were, are that, first, times are tough. Well… duh. OK, point number two is that in tough times, change, which is always inevitable, seems inevitabler. Yup, I just made up a word there. I’m kind of a rebel, I guess, breaking the rules wherever and whenever I can. For example, you see how I neatly transitioned from “dime” in the headline to “change” in the kicker? I even gave you a throwaway reference to “sense” (or “cents” as the case may be). Degree of difficulty: 9.2. Execution: 4.1.

OK, enough improv; back to the script. Change comes upon us always, in all things great and small. The birth of a child. The death of a parent. The loss of a job. A promotion. A romantic break-up. A chance meeting at a coffee shop. A rip in the seat of your pants.

Change management is the art of not just handling challenges as they come along, but anticipating them. It’s about activity, not reactivity. Firefighters need not apply.

 …