Accept
The most difficult part of managing and dealing with change is to simply accept that it must happen. At the educators' meeting, we talked about the fact that even the best Ivy League schools depend on alumni donations, football tickets and other means of garnering income well beyond tuition. Without these additional sources of revenue, they wouldn't survive. Those of us in the insurance industry must grow our territories, expand our product lines and work longer hours for the same compensation or less. This is a fact that must be accepted so we can adapt and adjust.

While acceptance is a simple concept, it is remarkably hard to do, given our human condition. We got where we are quite successfully doing it our “old” way, thank you very much. It's comfortable, easy and mostly on autopilot. Much has been written on this subject; in fact, some of us already teach, preach or train others on how to do old things in a new way. But actually doing it is still difficult. Psychologists say we have emotional connections to the things we do and the methods we selected after careful research and long experience. Educators will tell you that adults must connect all new knowledge to some older knowledge that is already lodged in the deep crevices of the learning centers of the brain. Abraham Maslow would have said we need to self-actualize. Certainly, all are correct at some level.

I'm less concerned with why we are resistant and more interested in the actual act of simple acceptance. Click your heels three times if you must, but somehow you find a way to make the decision of acceptance, because the train of life keeps rolling; if you aren't on it you get left behind. I can't resist a reference to the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. It is a quick read with a valid message. And to this point let me add this last thing: it feels great once you do make that decision. There is finally a relief in letting go of the resistance and accepting the inevitable. Once you try it you'll see what I mean.

Continue
The second word may seem to be in contradiction to the first. You must continue! But, continue what? You can continue with your mission, your work, your passion without making buggy whips when no one drives a buggy anymore. Step one, acceptance, may lead you to accept that your product or service isn't needed anymore and that you need to find something new to do.

As long as you know that what you are doing is moving into the future, and I'd wager just about everything we do in insurance can make that move, you can press on. In other words, don't give up!

This challenge is about moving forward when you can't see the end yet. Long-range planning experts these days do a lot with a 2-year plan and leave the 5-year versions to bullet points. We know things go so fast that we will deal in 5 years with things that aren't even on the drawing board today, much less invented and in production. Twitter is barely 4 years old, after all, but there are tens of millions of subscribers.

There are days when we feel that the light at the end of the tunnel must be an oncoming train. How did it all start moving so fast? Some sage advice was given to me that I'm happy to share: just try one new thing at a time. Don't buy a BlackBerry or iPhone and then sign up for Twitter and Facebook on the same day. Some of you will chuckle and say, “Who doesn't already have a Blackberry or Droid or [insert name here]?” Indeed, some of you have two! In December 2008 www.itfacts.biz reported that 19 percent of working Americans had a personal digital assistant. Probably that number is much closer to 40 percent now, and there are more than a few teenagers with them. But it's still not everyone.

Plus, some change isn't about technology. For example, even the idea of a retirement which is years away could stop some folks in their tracks. That type of planning is years in the making, and is a case where resistance to change, and the ensuing lack of action, can cause real problems in a person's future. Continuing to keep the faith for such large issues is a subject for more serious venues. But the fact that you must continue with the mission remains true.

Explore
Once you've accepted the change that is coming, and found a way to keep moving toward your goal, the fun can really begin. Your inner explorer will come out and help you. It is true that trying new things stimulates different places in your brain, including parts of the pleasure centers. This helps you keep pressing onward. That endorphin rush can keep you motivated. Why else would extreme sports be exploding all over the world?

Many great authors have used the quote, “Courage is not the absence of fear” in one way or the other. Explorers need courage. Managers need courage! We are the explorers of the new century, seeking new ways to keep our people employed and our businesses open. We must keep searching and stake our claim when we find the new ground. Our industry and our staff depend on us. Leadership is a frightening burden to begin with, so we need to call on our most basic survival instincts to push us forward when times get tough. We're in good company. Our predecessors, who built this amazing industry, surely felt the same way.

But where do we look for new opportunities? The answer is the same as it always has been: we speak with others in the field, keep up our education and do our research. Today, we might do the research on the Internet and not the library, or take the class online instead of in a classroom, but the process is the same. We chat with our fellow industry peers by e-mail or text or telephone instead of going to meetings. This may not be quite as fun, but it is effective. Regarding meeting face to face: a study several years ago indicated that visual, physical contact with other humans causes an increase in creative thought, because all five senses can be engaged. So you might want to keep going to “real” meetings occasionally to keep your right brain stimulated.

The adrenaline rush of speeding past the fear of the unknown is well documented in each of us. Most of us have had that moment in our own lives when we felt the joy of being courageous and getting results. So think of the next phase, the new product, the next technology or the new workflow as an adventure to begin right now. Enjoy the moment for what it is: another day, another adventure, another chance to change your part of the world. Managers have that joy every day, because we influence so directly the lives of others. If they see that spirit of adventure in action in you, maybe they'll just catch it from you.

Related: Read Lisa Harrington's September column, “LIsten well to hire well.”