A few days back, I wrote about the Tibetan Women’s Uprising in 1959 in my post titled “Leading Change When There Is No Sense of Urgency: The Women of Tibet.” In this post, I made a commitment to dedicate my next article in honor of these women that have persevered and dedicated their lives to the Tibetan cause.

In doing so, I will write about the The Noble Eightfold Path and how it relates to realizing change in business and in life. In Buddhism, the eight practices that lead to well being are known as The Noble Eightfold Path. Don’t freak out—I’m not going to go all religious on you. I’m simply going to share how these age-old practices are applicable to leading change in business and in life.

The point I’m trying to get across in this article is that leading change is a skill, an art, a discipline, a mystery even. The Dalai Lama, for example, is a master of many things and I’m sure he painfully ponders every day, “how might we make progress with China and Tibet?”

My argument is that the 21st century doesn’t need more change managers—no more “accredited” change management professionals. Only Designers of Change can kick-start the chain reaction of a better, more innovative kind of change.

How can you become a Designer of Change? Here are the eight principles of The Noble Eightfold Path, contrasted with the practices of a change manager and the principles of a Designer of Change.

1. Right View
The Buddhist has the capacity to see and understand things as they really are; the change manager conducts a change readiness assessment. The  Designer of Change seeks to understand worldviews.

2. Right Intention (Right Thinking)
The Buddhist trains their mind to dwell deeply in the present moment; the change manager uses a structured approach. The Designer of Change asks “How might we…?”

3. Right Speech
The Buddhist sees language as a principle of ethical conduct; the change manager fills out a communication plan template. The Designer of Change asks ‘Why?’ and listens.

4. Right Action
The Buddhist is committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental; the change manager identifies and executive sponsor. The Designer of Change is a connector and solves ‘wicked problems.’

5. Right Livelihood
The Buddhist earns a living in a righteous way, legally and peacefully; the change manager gets certified. The Designer of Change uses the Human-Centered Design Toolkit to practice open-minded observation, to generate ideas, and implement change.

6. Right Effort
The Buddhist is self-disciplined and nurtures honest, kind, benevolent mental energy; the change manager manages resistance. The Designer of Change practices exploration, collaboration, and prototyping.

7. Right Mindfulness
The Buddhist is mindful of the first aspect of meditation—stopping, calming, resting, and healing; the change manager creates a sense of urgency. The Designer of Change establishes a sense of purpose.

8. Right Concentration
The Buddhist cultivates a mind that is one-pointed and maintains evenness; the change manager follows best practices. The Designer of Change tackles tough challenges that require innovative thinking, creative solutions and collaborative action.

These are not the only principles for Designers of Change, and perhaps not even the best ones. And, my hope is that  they begin to help us think constructively about how to build a better tomorrow, compassionately. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

The fisherman is falling asleep by the fireplace next to the beagle. I shall join him. Good night.

John Kotter’s revelations in his Harvard Business Review article “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail“—establish a sense of urgency, create a guiding coalition, empower people to act, and so on—are useful, and they have proven not enough. First, not all change starts with a sense of urgency. Consider climate change. Climate change is now widely recognized as the major environmental problem facing the globe, however not that long ago climate change was barely on the mainstream radar screen. Not that long ago, there was no perceived sense of urgency to change.

Another example is Tibet. Ever since I was a little girl, I recall seeing “Free Tibet’ bumper stickers (I still see them today). Over the weekend, the fisherman and I watched a documentary titled, “Women of Tibet: A Quiet Revolution.” The film is an account  of an estimated 15, 0000 unarmed Tibetan women that come together in Lhasa, on March 12, 1959, to oppose the violent occupation of their country by the Chinese. Heavy shelling forced the women to surrender. This event is now known as the Tibetan Women’s Uprising. One of the surviving exiled elders shares stories of her 28 year imprisonment.  She, along with many other women who took to the streets to oppose the Chinese occupation, were taken from their families, subjected to grave acts of torture, and imprisoned for years. Stories like this stop me in my tracks. I am amazed at how some people find a way to go on after being targets of horrific inhumanity.

Fueled by intense urgency, the women of Tibet took to the streets and stood up to the Chinese occupation—so much so, they risked their lives. From the perspective of the Chinese government, there was no sense of urgency to free Tibet. China was taking back what they perceived as rightfully theirs. These opposing views remain today, 51 years later.

These two examples are precisely why I’m fascinated with change in business and in life. Leading change, realizing change, is far more complex than the simple eight steps outlined in Kotter’s book or any of the change management programs I have seen. Realizing successful change when some stakeholders don’t see a need for change is well… really hard. Heck, realizing personal change is hard. Ask all the folks that made New Year’s resolutions and three days in, their focus, their sense of urgency is waning. Just because it’s hard, however, doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing or can’t be done.

With that sense of hope, I”m going to dedicate my next few posts in honor of the Tibetan women that staged an uprising in 1959. I’m going to write about the The Noble Eightfold Path and how it relates to realizing change in business and in life. In Buddhism, the eight practices that lead to well being are known as The Noble Eightfold Path. Don’t freak out—I’m not going to go all religious on you. I’m simply going to share how these age-old practices are applicable to leading change in business and in life. I hope you stay with me during this journey.

My husband and I took yesterday off from work, from life. We took time to slow down, to take deep breaths, to listen deeply. We made our way up the Poudre Canyon in Northern Colorado – our destination, Gateway Park. Throughout the day a few young college kids wandered by donning swim attire – hiking a couple miles in to swim at a secluded reservoir. Fly rod being the chosen toy for the day, Matthew tied on a Red Copper John fly first and a Bead Head Barr Emerger Blue Wing Olive fly off the end of his line. He was ready for fishin’. We dipped our toes in the cool water. We noticed the light bounce on the moving water. Matthew caught fish and I cheered! We had lunch together – we shared a beer and we had a great day. I love my husband – he’s a good man. We noticed a bench in the park with a sentiment from a life that we never knew. None the less, we liked the message. 

“Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” Henry David Thoreau  

Who was William E. Graepler? The wonder of the Internet gave me some insight. William (Bill) Eugene Graepler was a husband and best fried, a father, a son, a brother, a grandfather. He was a man of of the outdoors. He was a fisherman. He evidently was teaching his grandson the finer points of fly fishing and the fine art of fly tying.

So why the title, “Zen and the Art of William Graepler, April 15th, 2008.”

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism. “The idea put forth by the Mahayanists was that of the bodhisattva (enlightened being), who practiced and taught for the benefit of everyone” (Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Broadway Books, 1998). William Graepler practiced fishing, fly fishing. A sport, a discipline that takes a great deal of patience, practice, and many trips with out any catchin’. Mr. Graepler reminded us on our fine day to slow down and to spend more time fishing, in spite of the catch at the end of the day. Mr. Graepler reminded me to pay attention and write about what inspires people. My blog post, Zen and the Art of Change Management, received feedback, comments, and tweets from people I have never met. I’m taking note oh great universe. I’m taking note Mr. Graepler. Blessings to you and your family. I commit to visiting your bench and fly fishing with my husband regularly.

Zen, a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, emphasizes experiential Prajñā (wisdom and understanding of the Buddha nature within). This wisdom and awareness are realized through meditation and mindfulness of daily experiences. Zen practitioners believe  this provides insights which ultimately lead to enlightenment.  Theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts are deemphasized in favor of direct, experiential realization through meditation and practice.

Change management, a discipline that emphasizes managing the ‘people side of change’ has similarities akin to Zen Buddhism. Wisdom and understanding of change takes practice, reflection, observation, and mindfulness. Change management is a skill to be developed. For those of you that have tried to meditate and quiet your mind, you know that it takes practice and you realize your mind is difficult to calm.

There are plenty of change management texts, models, tools, and best practices, however, assessing change, preparing for change, being aware of how you are experiencing change, being conscious of how others are perceiving change, learning how to influence others to support change are ALL aspects of being an effective change leader that takes practice and experience. These insights don’t come from reading a book on change management – although change management books and research are useful in gaining knowledge from those that have gone before you - nothing replaces experience, nothing replaces making mistakes and learning from them and moving on, nothing replaces emotional awareness. For those golfers out there – you didn’t learn to golf by reading a book. You learn to golf and become a better golfer by practicing. The same philosophy holds true for becoming an effective change management practitioner – it takes practice.

 So, back away from your journey and revisit your experiences.

1. THINK about what worked and didn’t work with a recent change.
2. REFLECT on the objections and resistance you experienced as a result of a change or the objections and resistance you faced from others during a change you were trying to implement.
3. STOP and BE MINDFUL of where people struggled, where you struggled.
4. REVISIT what you would do differently, what you would do again.

We all get moving so fast in today’s world. What would our world be like if we practiced slowing down, if we practiced stopping the empty chatter, if we practiced calming our minds? My bet is that that we would live better lives, more peaceful lives. We would notice when compassion is needed and when a firm decision to move forward is needed. We would recognize why people are resisting a change and what response is meaningful. We would learn how to affect change and be effective change leaders - a skill that that our organizations, governments, communities, and families need more than ever.