BE THE COFFEE BEAN

#11 - When you find yourself in hot water now and then, will you be like the carrot, the egg, or the coffee bean?  Will you give in like the carrot, resist like the egg, or become an agent for change?  Be the Coffee Bean.

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Hello and welcome back, Team 412.  Thanks for hanging in there!  I hope you’ve enjoyed our journey together.  We’ve done a lot yet there is always more to learn.  The big question is coming up soon:  How has this Team 412 program helped you to become a better leader?  Think about that for next week.

In Episode #8, we talked about many of the Challenges of Change.  This week is Episode #11, and I want to encourage you to BE THE COFFEE BEAN.   Now, I know that sounds a bit weird, but it’s a good description of the coffee bean’s role as a change agent, and why you should always try to be like the coffee bean.  

This needs a bit of explanation before we jump into the point of this episode.  The “coffee bean” imagery comes from a riveting book by a most remarkable person.  The book is titled, “The Change Agent,” written by Damon West, a person with a most remarkable story to tell.  A friend from Cohort 1 of Team 412 recommended this book to me, and literally, I could not put it down.  A companion book, “The Coffee Bean,” by Damon West and Jon Gordon, is equally as attention-grabbing.  “The  Coffee Bean” is a fast read but very good and well worth savoring its message.  I recommend these two books to you very highly.  Both are unforgettable stories, one true and one a good story based on the truths of the first book.  I was so impressed with “The Coffee Bean” that I ordered copies for each of my grandkids.

The first book, “The Change Agent,” deals with the true story of the author, Damon West, who went from being a star quarterback to a drug addict, a home robber, then to being a convicted felon serving a long prison sentence, and then who went on to redeem himself as an inspirational speaker to a number of groups of troubled people.  West got some good advice from an old convict friend, who told him the story of the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean.  That story helped him turn his life around.

The second book, “The Coffee Bean,” tells the story of a fictitious character, a high school student, Abe, who gets some life-changing advice and mentoring from his science teacher, Mr. Jackson.  It’s basically the same story of the carrot, the egg and the coffee bean, told in a different way.  Abe uses these examples in various ways throughout his lifetime.  Like Damon West’s true story, Abe’s experiences of being like the coffee bean transforms his life and the lives of those around him.

The main point of both books, the true story and the fictional story, is to choose to live your life like the coffee bean.  The story line goes something like this:  life is full of times when you are in hot water.  You can choose be like a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean.  Now, what happens to these three things?  

·      If you put a carrot in hot water, it soon becomes soft.  The carrot becomes softened and weakened by the hot water it is in.  If you think you are like the carrot, you will give in to the forces outside you, and you will become weaker.  

·      An egg in hot water fights against the heat and soon becomes hard-boiled. If you think you are like the egg, you will believe the negativity around you has power over you, and you’ll tend to harden yourself against the outside world. 

·      But a coffee bean in hot water changes the hot water into a delicious beverage.  If you think you are like the coffee bean, you will not allow the hot water to overpower you.  You will bring about a change in the hot water itself.  You will know that the power inside you is greater than the forces of the world outside yourself.

·      The moral of the story:  Your power is on the inside.  Be the coffee bean.

Be the Coffee Bean.  That’s a very simple statement but there is a lot of unspoken power behind those few words.  Think about it – the coffee bean made a positive change in its environment.  It didn’t let the hot water change it – it changed the hot water!  The coffee bean was an agent of change, and that is NOT an easy task, my friend.

As we noted in an earlier episode, change is difficult for most people.  Let’s face it, we’re mostly all creatures of habit.  Have you heard any of these lately?  “Stay the course.  Don’t make waves or don’t rock the boat.  Why change what’s working?  Let’s just maintain the Status Quo.” That brings to mind two well-known quotes here:

·      One quote is from humorist Jim Boren who said it very bluntly:  “Status Quo is the epoxy that greases the wheels of progress.”  Staying the same – or trying to – is like trying to glue everything in place.  It’s an impossible job.  Things change.  Hopefully, some people change too!

·      The other quote is: “Change is the only constant,” attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus.  Hmmm, it seems we’ve been at this change resistance for a long time, haven’t we?  Change happens all around us all the time.  There is always some change occurring, whether we choose to admit it or not.

Now, think about that determined coffee bean.  It got dumped into a pot of hot water.  Well, who doesn’t now and then?  Remember that carrot?  It got softened up by the hot water and caved in to the heat.  The egg hardened up when in the hot water and refused to get involved.  It hardened its heart against the heat.  But the coffee bean said, “I can make a difference,” and then made it happen.  It didn’t give in, it didn’t resist, it changed the hot water.  The coffee bean became a positive agent for change.

So, Be the Coffee Bean, my friend.  Be that positive agent for change.  Leaders must be able to help their teams or organizations move from their current state (there’s that old Status Quo again) to new goals and greater successes.

It’s not easy, and don’t let anyone tell you it will be.  Believe me, as a graduate of the School of Hard Knocks, I know better!  That coffee bean had to stew around in that hot water quite a bit before making a change in the hot water.  So will you, my friend, as leader of a group that may be resistant to change.  You must provide a clear vision of where you are going to the most recalcitrant person around you.  You must inspire everyone on your team to adopt your vision, and then motivate them to accomplish the task or goal.

That may sound a bit lofty or pretentious right now, but it is what you must do to make positive change happen.  Notice that word “positive” – it’s the most important word here.  Nobody wants negative changes, but they do happen don’t they – and sometimes more frequently than we may think they do.  Negative changes happen when people aren’t prepared for the changes, don’t see the need for change, and become hard boiled about the changes, just like the egg.  Or, they don’t really want to accept the changes but put their heads down, give in to the changes, and become soft, like the carrot.

You must Be the Coffee Bean, and change that hot water that you’re in to something more positive.  It will require a lot from you.  After all, that coffee bean gave a lot of its inner strength to make a change in the hot water all around it.  If that coffee bean can make a positive difference, then so can you, my friend.

Be the Coffee Bean and become a positive agent for change.  All it takes is – a LOT from you.  Just like the coffee bean, your inner strengths are what sustains you and helps you make positive changes all around you.

Easy?  Not at all!  You will need to call upon your strengths as a

·      Visionary – Well, that sounds rather lofty to me.  What is meant by “visionary” is to be able to “envision” the change you want to make, then “imagineer” it from start to finish.

·      Communicator – once you’ve envisioned and imagineered the change, you must communicate not only the change itself, but the need for change and its benefits clearly and confidently to everyone on your team or in your organization.

·      Motivator – communicating is only one step in the change process.  People are reluctant to change so you will need to motivate them all along the way.

·      Facilitator – you, as a change leader, must help your people adapt to the new ways.  Change may involve processes, strategy, even the culture of the team or organization.

·      Problem solver – during the change process, challenges or issues always pop up.  Anticipate them and prepare yourself to identify and resolve whatever the issues are.

·      Empathizer – remember that change will bring concerns by those affected by change.  You, as a change leader, must listen, understand, and address everyone’s concerns.

·      Example Setter – leading by example is the best way I know of to demonstrate to everyone your commitment to the change.  If you really want to make the change work, show it – all the time and in no uncertain terms.  People really do take notice, and they will react accordingly.

It's very important these days for organizations to be adaptable to survive and thrive.  Change really is the only constant.  You can make a difference.  Just … Be the Coffee Bean.

Here are three questions for you to think about and answer for yourself.  How do these apply to you?

1.      When you have found yourself in hot water, how have you reacted – as a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

2.      Think of a time – at work, at church, in the community, in your family - when a change was made and it didn’t go well.  How could the change process have been improved?

3.      Which of your inner strengths will you call upon to help you become a positive change agent?

Like that coffee bean, our strength is on the inside.  As Damon West and Jon Gordon wrote, “…Realize that we don’t create our world from the outside in.  We create and transform it from the inside out.”

We’ll wrap up this Cohort with one more episode that I call the CODA – the tail, the end, the conclusion.  And yet, becoming a servant leader doesn’t end here.  To borrow a term from the university, it will be a Commencement for us – and ending, and at the same time, a new beginning, a continuation of your leadership journey.

Until next time, take good care of yourself, and … Be the Coffee Bean.