I sometimes don’t like to talk about “change”, as it almost comes with some negative slant from the instant we start talking about it. Somehow as humans we start talking about change as it is a negative, and we assume (willingly or subconsciously), that whatever state we are changing from was the more desired state.
It is sometimes crazy to me how we do this even when we try not to, this seems to be our default as a company, or even as individuals.
The reality is change is more like oxygen then it is an emotion. There is always change and we need it to thrive as people, as a community and as a company.
It is always there, we will always need to embrace it, and we will always need to grow with it.
SafetyCo has and will continue to change, and more importantly we will always work to rethink how we learn and grow with change as a force or momentum forward, instead of a view backwards.
The hardest part of change for all of us is around our team members and when people leave the company, change roles or move onto to something else. We miss the people and we care.
And the company evolves and becomes more resilient by the day and the month.
We have changed and evolved a lot in thee four years since we started this journey together (more to come on that in May).
As we look forward to the second half of the year, we have had a bunch of change in the company, and the company has also been able to change with the addition of 6 new people to the team that have evolved how we work and what the company looks like.
Change is also the greatest teacher at times. If we embrace it and are curious and humble enough to ask ourselves of the questions of what we did right and what we could have done better in those experience that created the change. If we have the confidence to ask those who decided to move on from SafetyCo “why”. Maybe more importantly we need to ask everyone who decides to stay as part of the SafetyCo team “why do you decide to stay”. We have started having more 1:1 meeting formally and informally and asking those specific questions, “What makes you want to stay here?”. We are also asking “what can we do better”. I am sure in the coming days and weeks you will all be asked those questions by one or many of the leaders in the company and we would ask you jump in and tell us your perspective and ideas.
The reason for all of this is that we as a company do think about change differently then most. We in some way think of change as our positive superpower. Something that we understand, embrace and value. Something that is part of our core.
For us Change is a Constant. It is our oxygen.
– Mark
