Lessons From the New Toilet
www.yahoo.com 2007-12-4
Now what, you may be asking, does a toilet have to do with Human Resources? Rather a lot, so bear with me while I tell my story. My husband and I replaced the toilet in our main bathroom about a week ago; we purchased the exact same model. But, it came with one small change, or so we thought. The flush handle is on the left. In the old model, and in every other bathroom we have, the flush handle is on the right.
No problem, right? Wrong. We are creatures of habit. Adapting to the change so that it becomes our new habit has been tough. We even talked about it this weekend and laughed to know that we are both experiencing the same reaction to the change - we always reach for the handle on the right.
I don't know how long it will take before the new, new becomes the natural way of doing things. And, I laugh now every time I reach to the handleless side of the toilet. But, the experience has caused me to pause with some sympathy for people in the workplace when they are asked to change - especially to change habits and ways of doing things that represent years of practice.
It's a small lesson, but a good one for me. Just as I try to maintain freshness and innovation in my life by taking different driving routes to clients, varying my morning routine, and changing my training classes every time I teach them, I need reminders, too. And, this is such a small change in my routine whereas the ones employees are asked to make are usually much more important and difficult.
(editor: jane)
