Tuesday, January 08, 2013

This Little Light of Mine

After a long hiatus, I am writing today with a slightly different purpose. This past year I have focused on approaches to changing organizations, mostly from an HR perspective. Since November, I have been focused on a different form of change. My wife has been diagnosed with cancer, and I see change in a more personal light. I am seeing how short term and long term goals must be changed. I am seeing how personal identities must be changed. I am seeing how fast and how painfully slow change can be. I am seeing how I need to change.

I believe these changes have been brought to my life as a wake up call. "Yo, this is God. What are you doing with your life? Your life full of conveniences, mobile technology, and career mindedness? There is more going on in this world. You have a higher purpose. What you thought was important may not be so. Check yourself." 

It's one thing for me to write about spreading change across many, but it is another thing to be doing it. Furthermore, what change is worth spreading? For what cause do I believe in so much that I am willing to go public and attempt to influence others? How can I do more?

I am inspired by positive responses to the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, where Ann Curry suggested that people engage in 26 acts of random kindness in honor of the 26 innocent victims in Sandy Hook Elementary School. Passing on kindness is not new. Recall the public campaign Pass It On. These consist of the same infectious change techniques that I have written about (e.g., here and here and here) and that have been discussed by Malcolm Gladwell, Robert Cialdini, and others. I am also inspired by Corporate Rebels United, which I have Tweeted about recently. This is a small cross-organizational organization consisting of individuals who want to spark innovation across all of their employers- almost like a secret society for spreading creative thinking. 

Just after the sad news from Newtown came more sad news on Christmas Eve from Webster, NY - just a couple miles up the road from where I live, the town in which I send my son to school, the place where my wife goes to shop and my daughter has sleep overs with her friends. A deranged man set fire to his house to lure fire fighters into range so that he could shoot them. Two men lost their lives (Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka), and two more were critically injured (Joseph Hofstetter was shot in the pelvis and Theodore Scardino was hit in the shoulder and the knee).

Ladies and gentlemen, we need more "good" in our world. *I* need more good in the world, and *I* have not done enough about it. A candle that is covered gives no light and eventually dies out. A candle that is visible can light up a room, especially when that one flame can light an infinite number of other candles. 

So, why can't I form an organization of individuals committed to spreading good into organizations, far and wide? We need more good. We need more drivers who stop traffic to let others make a left turn. We need more shoppers who offer their unused coupons to others in the store. We need more volunteers who help isolated people in need of attention. We need more coworkers who remind us of the right way to do our business. We need more citizens who band together with people who differ in opinion, but share a common interest in improving our communities. We need a secret society whose purpose is to infiltrate all organizations in order to create more good. Where there is more good - more visible acts of goodness - there will be more faith, more hope, and more charity. 

This year expect stories, ideas, and (hopefully) my own experiences related to spreading what is good. It starts with me. I am praying daily, and I keep asking for the courage to act. Thinking about good is not enough. This tiny, barely significant little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. Let my flame light yours, and go do the same. 

Post your efforts using #ChangeAtWork tweets at https://twitter.com/paulmastrangelo and/or posts on http://www.facebook.com/ChangeAtWork ... Be the change at work!



This post is not intended to represent any person or organization other than Paul M. Mastrangelo.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Display "Kindness Candles" at work, school, & home to make your world a better place. Download material at http://bit.ly/VdyX4T . All instructions are included.