Rule Breakers = Change Makers

On my business cards, I have a great quote by Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.”  I agree whole-heartedly with this quote and feel that it also applies to the business world as much as it does to the ecological one.  However, please consider a key word in this quote…SURVIVE.  Sure, we can all survive, but what happens if we want to do more than that?  What do we need to do when we want to surpass the status quo and do something amazing?

Instead of just responding to change, is it possible that we actually create the change?  How many of us really want to make a difference, but we aren’t sure how to do that with all of the barriers we face in our professional roles each day?  We have been taught and coached to conform to those workplace clichés like work well with others,  be a team player and to work toward a common goal in our jobs.  We want to fit in and we want others to think that we are productive and worthy of our position, but what about our interests?  What do we do when we want to be a little different, color outside of the lines and break the rules?

I can think of so many situations I have been faced with where I really felt that things could be better if we didn’t limit ourselves by the criteria and rules we are expected to adhere to.  I can also reflect on the fact that I didn’t want to step outside my role or job description to take the risk of breaking the rules.  There were a multitude of reasons why I didn’t do this:  1)  I would risk my job, 2)  I would feel uncomfortable and make others uncomfortable, 3)  I would cause an inconvenience and disrupt the current system in place, 4)  I would have to justify why I did to those I work with, 5)  It may cost money, time and effort that is unexpected and the list goes on.  So in those cases, I played it safe, I did what was expected and eventually I settled into my routine and performed my job.

But…much more rewarding are the times when I did step outside of my comfort zone and did the unexpected.  Sure, it doesn’t always garner the typical results, but the experience is always much richer and full of learning.  The part that brings the most value is that I have a sense of uncertainty and I don’t know how things will turn out, but the one thing I do know is that I have created CHANGE and that leads to energy and new ideas.  That makes conversations start and new perspectives form about issues that maybe need to be addressed.  It may not fit the mold of “the way it has always been done”, but it does make me feel accomplished when I am able to shake up the current situation and still be okay at the end of the day and often even better and more knowledgeable and equipped.

Yes, it is risky, yes, it gives us a nervous feeling in our gut, sometimes it makes our palms sweat and it makes us hope with blind trust that good things will happen, but sometimes it is just what we need to do to get to that place where we can see new ideas form and take a different road that will lead to new and exciting opportunities. 

·         Mark Zuckerberg-Facebook

·         Walt Disney-Disney Studios

·         Gloria Steinem – Feminist, Author & Ms. Magazine Co-Founder

·         Fred Smith - FedEx

·         Oprah Winfrey-Harpo Studios

·         Hugh Hefner - Playboy

·         Ray Croc - McDonalds

·         Henry Ford – Ford Motor Co.

These are just a few of the many rule breakers that have certainly became change makers and made our lives and our economy better.  They have created opportunity because they made the choice to think differently and to take the chance to create change.  They decided that staying stuck inside the box was not going to get them anywhere, so they took a risk and stepped outside the box and began exploring.   Aren’t we lucky they did!

How can you create change in your professional world?  Do you champion the ideas that are outside of the status quo?  Do you recognize the rules that are not conducive to opportunity?  Are you currently a change maker?