In our hamlet, there are centuries old houses. The old chimneys have been retrofitted with a pipe to keep the fires working and the houses safe. In the village where the kids go to school, there is a house that has been gutted and only the external walls and front quarter of the roof remains. It is being rebuilt from the inside. And in a woodland there is an old mill being taken apart stone by stone, labelled and then will be rebuilt around a house being built inside the footprint. And then there is us, integrating an extension, a new building effectively, to the existing barn conversion.

All of these are stories of change. Stories of working with something existing and giving it new life. Each story has its challenges, decisions to make in the moment. And while these are stories about houses, they can apply to organisations too.

Organisational change does not happen only one way. Sometimes we think the only way to change is to raze the old to the ground and start again. There are other ways and much depends on what you are starting with and what change you are seeking to achieve.

What are change are you making and what are working with?

Photo by Milivoj Kuhar