Making Change Happen: A Shift from Diagonal Thinking
Photo by Ash Amplifies | Unsplash
Are you taking the traditional path to change? Time to shift your thinking.
Change can feel like climbing a mountain—daunting, exhausting, and impossible to scale without the proper perspective.
Sound familiar? If the answer is yes, you’re not alone. All of us have been there – staring down a challenge and wondering where to begin.
But here’s the secret: The solution isn’t about finding the perfect path. It’s about small, meaningful actions.
A coffee and a shifted perspective
Recently, I had coffee with Tim Rogers at my favorite spot in Uptown Charlotte. Tim is a very bright guy who listens deeply and is quick to pull a Post-It pad and Sharpie from his back pocket to jot a thought or draw a concept.
Over our lattes, Tim and I chatted about how most people think about change –– both at work and in their personal lives. With a swift, quickdraw-like motion, a bright pink 3”x3” Post-It pad made it onto the table, and Tim began to doodle.
He drew a diagonal line from the pad's lower left to the upper right, with dots indicating the start and stop points. “This is how most people think about change,” he said. “There’s a starting point and a specific, linear path to achieve a big goal that seems daunting.”
We agreed that most of us are overwhelmed by this approach. What steps do I take? In what order? And most importantly, where do I begin?
He quickly added a short, horizontal line to the right of the starting point.“This is a starting point," he said emphatically. "And, most importantly, is a small step representing progress.”
What this not-so-obvious step does is get us moving. It helps us begin to see the way forward. It breaks us out of the fear of change that can paralyze us, crushing progress.
Three takeaways for tackling change
After reflecting on our conversation, here are three key thoughts to help you navigate your next significant shift:
Start Somewhere – Even Laterally Forget about the perfect first step. Instead, focus on any step that moves you. Small progress is still progress, and it’s often the catalyst to bigger leaps.
Seek Human Connection Change is hard, but you don’t have to face it alone. Share your thoughts with someone you trust. Fresh perspectives can spark clarity and even reveal unexpected paths forward.
Pause and Reflect Once you’ve made that initial move, take a step back. What’s working? What’s new? Progress often reveals insights you couldn’t see before—and may even reshape your change outcome.
Your next step: book a coffee
Significant changes don’t need big beginnings. They need small moments of courage and connection. So, grab a latte with a friend or colleague. That one conversation might be the step that breaks you free from inertia.
Let's have a virtual coffee. Put it on our calendars
(the latte is on me)
