During my last three years in the Army Reserves, which were post 9/11, I learned a valuable lesson in staying flexible. Not, contorting my body in awkward positions, but always adapting to change. In those three years my unit was always on the verge of being deployed overseas; mainly rumors and internal rumblings, though. Our Commander would always say to us, “Stay Flexible”.

No organization can truly survive without changes. We are no different here. Over the last few months and even weeks, we’ve seen dramatic changes. It can be scary, exciting and overwhelming at times. The thing to remember is, like our Commander said, to be flexible.

If you’re fortunate in these times to still have a place of employment, that means not resorting to the lame “that’s not my job” excuse. If you’re a recent graduate or looking for employment, that means that the job you’re seeking or applying for isn’t the only job you will most likely be doing.

Over the years I’ve had one primary job title, website designer & developer. That of course means I design websites and code them out for the web. Is that all I do? Heck no. There are plenty of people in our organization and in yours that wear multiple hats, nothing new about that; it’s reality. One hour you’re coding a website the next you’re helping your co-worker with some desktop support issue(s). It’s basic teamwork. It’s the same thing in the military. You pick your primary MOS (job) but you’re tasked out to do multiple jobs.

Chris Brogan recently posted on his Overnight Success series about The Competition. “No one ever won a race by looking sideways. They look ahead…” I can add to this, with respect to organizational change, that you can’t make successful transitions in your organization if you’re looking back.

I was reading Jillian’s blog the other day when I saw a quote from Walt Disney. This same quote was the basis for the movie Meet The Robinsons. It’s a great piece of advise if you want to get ahead.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We’re always exploring and experimenting.”

So Keep Moving Forward everyone!

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