In 1929, an 8-story, 11,000-ton building owned by the Indiana Bell Phone Company was scheduled for demolition so that the company could build a new headquarters on the same site with more grounds and an entrance on another street.
But aside from needing a change of address and some upgrading, the building was sound, so someone came up with the idea of simply moving it. Over the course of a month, it was…
…moved a full 52 feet south
…rotated 90 degrees
…and THEN shifted again, another 98 feet west
And during the whole move, the 600 employees who worked in the building CONTINUED WORKING
Yep, you read that right! While the building was being moved at a rate of about 15 inches per hour, all services: gas, electric, water and sewer were fully maintained AND everyone kept going about their lives as if nothing was happening!
In fact, according to reports, “no one inside felt it move…”
And that’s the power of INCREMENTAL progress…MICRO movements…SMALL shifts. We can fundamentally change our business—or our lives—without blowing up what we already have.
There are at least 3 lessons we can learn from this example of incremental growth that apply to our own business and personal growth:
1. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 do have to change to grow, but you 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 “𝐁𝐋𝐎𝗪 𝐔𝐏” everything.
Even though this building was originally set to be demolished, the essential nature of the activities being carried out there meant that it made more sense to INNOVATE than to IMPLODE.
The same is true for us. None of us needs to reinvent EVERYTHING in order to improve our results. We all have things in our business that are working right and elements of who we are and what we do now that we should INCLUDE in our re-invention.
𝟐. 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 essential
In order for the utilities in the building to remain in service, all the pipes and cables needed to be made more flexible. Too much rigidity would have made it impossible to move the building without also shutting down essential services.
Similarly, as we grow our business, we need to have “psychological flexibility” – letting go of the fixed vision we have of what we think everything is SUPPOSED to look like.
𝟑. Keep looking out the window
Even if we don’t feel things changing, every once in a while, we need to look to see how much has changed.
For workers in the building, even a 15-inch shift in view would have been NOTICEABLY different to anyone who had seen the SAME view, day in and day out, for years.
In our world, while it’s important to keep your head down and do the “work” (whether that’s “inner work” or “outer work” on your GOALS), if we don’t look up occasionally to see how our landscape has shifted, we miss out on the opportunities to celebrate our progress. Don’t wait to celebrate only when you reach the finish line. Celebrate small wins along the way.
If you’re trying to accelerate the growth of your business and improve your life and the lives of your loved ones, remember these 3 lessons.
One more thing…find an expert who knows how to help you move your building. If I can help you with that, let’s talk.
Either way, always keep REACHING…
[This article is adapted from one written by my friend and colleague, Jason Goldberg. His article was for people in general. But so much of it applied to financial and insurance professionals, that I was compelled to rewrite it for you.]
Learn how to make manageable changes incrementally.
