Chapter 2Organizational Change Starts with Individual Change

When the winds of change are blowing, some people are building shelters; others are building windmills.

—Ancient Chinese Proverb

People of all walks have been dealing with change for at least as long as there has been a written record. One of the oldest Chinese texts is the I Ching, or Yi Jing, which literally translates as Classic of Changes. Dating back to at least the third century BC, the Yi Jing is a means of gaining insight into a question using a standardized process of throwing coins and interpreting the results in one of 64 ways.

Although one might place a low value on the random nature of insight that was gained, the ancient Chinese had perhaps a better understanding of change ...

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