Several years ago we moved into a temporary office. It was a dump.
Overgrown branches interrupted nearly every parking spot. The front door boasted the only clear glass in the entire building. The window next to it had obviously been patched and once inside, the long hallways were nothing more than dark corridors with a series of small unwelcoming doors.
There were no windows, no glass, and almost no greenery. Low ceilings made the space feel as though the roof was caving in, and the layout of the space itself reminded you of a checkerboard. There was no flow – at all.
And that was the best part.
Nobody wanted to take a bathroom break. While the facilities weren’t necessarily filthy, they left much to be desired. The faucets were slightly rusted, the floors were coming up, and the plumbing was exposed with moisture condensing on the pipes, and fixtures cracked, chipped, and turning yellow.
Luckily, it was a temporary dump.
Amazingly, several people didn’t want to move. They stoutly declared their opposition from the moment we began searching for new space. They had become accustomed to their current reality and couldn’t imagine anything but the status quo.
What these folks didn’t think about was the possibility. They were so mired in resisting change that they forgot that a change might result in a significant upgrade.
With a new office we were planning to upgrade from Class C to Class A space. There would be more room. It’d be more welcoming. And there would be more convenient access to local restaurants. Our new office might even be closer to their homes.
Once we moved, everyone, even the naysayers, was ecstatic. They couldn’t believe that we survived the temporary office for six full months. They laughed at their resistance and praised the decision to move. They were now in an office that they were proud of.
How much time are you wasting by resisting change? Instead of dreading the inevitable, think about what it makes possible. Perhaps an upgrade is actually in store.