On the theme of change, we add more of the haiku and poems about caterpillars and the transformation to butterflies, and also include Scott's simple model for implementing change.

1. Thoughts on Change
Teaching the
Caterpillar to Fly
PART TWO
of three
Some poems and quips about issues,
possibilities, perceptions and choices.
by Scott Simmerman, Ph.D.
Managing Partner of Performance Management Company

2. This is part two of the series and it contains another set of our poems and quips about the
theme of caterpillars and butterflies. There is no real underlying purpose other than to
share some of the images and thoughts with people.
The metaphor of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly is a fun one and if you would like to
share these, just let us know. It is something we encourage.
We use this basic metaphor of a wooden wagon rolling on Square Wheels as a teaching
metaphor for how things really work and for helping to encourage innovation and
improvement. It allows for a great deal of discussion and initial involvement in the reality
that things can be improved.
Take a moment and consider the above, if you have not thought about it before.
How might this represent how organizations really work?

4. A Model for Change
For many years, I have used a simple model to help
managers understand the key issues of change and
to support organizational improvement. These are
expanded in my Teaching the Caterpillar to Fly
article but are shared here, briefly.
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Making people less comfortable with the current situation helps motivate some
change or changes. We do that by starting discussions of Square Wheels and
round wheels…
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Helping to create or expand on the vision of the future is an important part of
people buying into the change process. Oftentimes, they do now know where
they are going or why they are going there, organizationally and personally.
•
Supporting continuous improvement with the feeling of success is very helpful,
which is why teams often work so well. Creating an individual or group feeling
that they are accomplishing things is very helpful.
•
People will support other people if they all share a sense of ownership
involvement and feel that they are in the effort together, especially when that has
to do with the improvement of their workplace. They need to feel ownership
involvement.

5. If you would like any of these images for your use, email me or see my poems blog.

6. If you would like any of these
images for your use, email
me or see my poems blog.

9. Two other key thoughts on the transformation of people are reflected in the
themes of coaching and mentoring. We think that coaches and parents can
see a potential that the caterpillars do not yet see. And the act of
supporting the change is a powerful one for helping change and
improvement. Here are two of my Haiku poems that support this theme.
Note
You can find a lot of my poems and quips at poemsontheworkplace.com

10. This is one of my more important investments in the whole concept of personal and
organizational transformation. It encompasses a lot. Take a minute and consider:

11. In this image, we tried to capture a number of ideas and themes about
personal and organizational growth and improvement. Among them are:
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The wagon rolls with Square Wheels
The wagon cargo are round tires
The caterpillars ride on the wagon
They see a butterfly but do they
understand the future?
The painter paints a butterfly but he
looks at the caterpillar
The work of the painter is unfinished
The artist’s caterpillar sees the wagon
journey and the riding caterpillars
and potentially the wagon and its
wheels
The future looks attractive, which the
wagon puller can see but maybe not
the pushers
The journey starts to go downhill
All of those involved have different
visions
There is simply so much
potential in all that we do.

12. The model, full size:

13. I hope that you liked our
Thoughts on Change
with the Change Model and our series
of poems, quips and other metaphors
around the theme of:
Teaching the Caterpillar to Fly
For the past 30 years, we have supported trainers and
consultants with simple and effective toolkits for managing
and leading change and for innovation and team building.
For the FUN of It!
Scott Simmerman, Ph.D.
Managing Partner of Performance Management Company
www.PerformanceManagementCompany.com