Principle or petrification?

I was never offered a typing class at school, falling into a post-typewriter—pre-omnipresent-computer gap. When I bought a mechanical keyboard a while back, I decided I should finally learn.

It was rough. My several-finger typing was quick enough that going back to absolute basics felt like slow motion. Learning something when you have no other option feels different than abandoning a mostly-working skill to go backwards.

It’s not that old dogs like me can’t do new tricks, but that we have self-worth and years of effort tied up with those old tricks, and it is difficult to let them go.

That same feeling applies to experts in most fields. Surgeons hated the idea of checklists even though they were proven to vastly improve patient outcomes.  In the customer service world, it can manifest as resistance to new approaches, new policies, different leadership. 

But change is inevitable. A larger company with more customers cannot do customer service in exactly the same way as it used to. 

It is true that not every change is good; Sometimes new policies are less customer friendly, or will cause real problems.  It is good and right to argue thoughtfully about them.

But before you do, take a moment to consider whether your reaction is based on a real principle, or whether it might be more about avoiding temporary discomfort. 

Adaptability is a life skill that you can take with you into every future role, and that your colleagues will notice and value.

I am still practicing my touch typing. Wish me luck.