Written by Bob, our former Implementation Consultant at Fluent Technology, office ‘Flex-pert’, keen musician and resident Dr Love.
There is an episode of Father Ted where the housekeeper Mrs Doyle, disgusted when a salesman informs her that the TeaMaster “Takes the misery out of making tea”, says with a scowl “Maybe I like the misery!” If you haven’t seen it, here is the link.
If you don’t already know this, Mrs Doyle’s character makes a lot of tea. Tea making is so ingrained in her day-to-day that she cannot comprehend the change a device like the TeaMaster would make. For better or worse she refuses to find out and later in the episode, sabotages any attempts of adopting this new-fangled mechanism.
When an organisation changes a process, for example…oh I don’t know… like moving to a new Grant Management System, the change may be greeted with resistance and opposition. There are people who become habitually conditioned to the old way of doing things. Not to say that there is necessarily something wrong with the old way, no no, not at all, it probably gets the job done. Some steps may require a bit of extra lifting or are slightly long winded but nevertheless you can always make it to the finish line. For some, the old way has always been the way of doing things, for others it wasn’t always the way but is the way they have gotten used to. Both parties opinion on changing their system can be summed up with “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” But hey, let’s face it, the guy who coined that phrase is probably still using a horse and cart to get to work!
It’s a scenario that stretches into everyday life and I too find myself doing it from time to time. I get annoyed when the reverse gear is differently positioned in a new car. Confused when the back button on my new phone is on the opposite side to what I’m used to. Angry when I have to pay 5p for a plastic bag every damn time I go shopping because I cannot for the life of me ever remember to bring any of the five billion I have stashed away in my kitchen drawer! Okay, last one is not really a good example but I wanted to rant so it went in!
When we are faced with a change to something we have grown used to, the benefits of the change can initially be overshadowed by the minor inconveniences that occur during the adjustment period. We need to remind ourselves that the initial frustrations with change are simply that, initial. I no longer put my car into 2nd gear when reversing, and it sure is nice to drive a car that doesn’t sound like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on Stomp. I no longer press ‘back’ on my phone when using apps, and it sure is nice to have a crack-free glass screen that doesn’t try to slice off my thumbs every time I send a text. I still forget to bring bags when I go shopping though.