182 Part III: Opening the Toolkit
Three requirements need to be in place for change to happen. You must:
✓ Want to change
✓ Know how to change
✓ Get or create the opportunity to change
In the following sections, we delve further into the logical levels. As you
explore, keep in mind one important question: ‘How can you make change
easy for yourself?’
We apply all the questions we raise in the following sections to you as an indi-
vidual, but you can ask the same questions to assess what’s happening in an
organisation as well.
Environment
The environment level is about place and people – the physical context in
which you hang out – and about finding the right time. If you want to become
fluent in a new language, the easiest way to learn is to go and live in the rel-
evant country for a while, fully immersing yourself in the culture, ideally by
living with native speakers. Similarly, if you want to get to grips with a new
software package, moving on to a project to work with a person or team that
applies it in their business makes sense. Again, the new environment is condu-
cive to learning, which is itself a type of change. The timing is also critical –
you can’t learn if the time isn’t right for you – for example, if you’re tied up
with other needs.
Here are some environment questions to ask yourself when you sense that
you’re not in the right place or now isn’t the right time for you to get what
you want:
✓ Where do you work best?
✓ Where in the world do you want to explore?
✓ What kind of home environment is right for you – modern, minimalist, or
traditional?
✓ What kind of people do you like to have around you? Who makes you
feel good, energised, and comfortable? Who makes you feel drained? Or
do you prefer to work alone?
✓ What time of day do you feel good – are you up with the lark in the
mornings or a night owl?
Questions such as these give you the right kind of data so that you can
decide what environment issues you can work on.
