Futurist Daniel Burrus describes the difference between change and transformation like this, “Change comes from the outside in, forcing us to react and manage crises. Transformation, on the other hand, whether it is business or personal, always comes from the inside out. This and that gives us far more positive control while allowing us to actively shape the future.”
Being proactive flips that script.”
Source: Purpose Unlimited, August 8, 2019. Link. The reality is most businesses tend to be reactive. The world changes and forces them to react. Since the world is constantly changing, the result is lurching from crisis to crisis. They try to manage change, but how can you manage something you can’t control? Being proactive flips that script. The transformation process poses these questions, “What will the future look like? What will we have to look like to succeed in that future? What will we have to do to create the organization we just described?”
INSIGHTS: Transformation always begins with the question of purpose. From a personal perspective the question is, “What’s my purpose?” Since an organization is simply a group of people bound by a common purpose, that question becomes, “What’s our purpose?” When you are purpose-driven you become proactive instead of reactive.