From the Introduction Mr Rocchi explains: I cite my own life experiences and those of others. My approach to this subject is organized according to a set of principles I call The Six P’s of Change.
Step 1 — Develop the PERCEPTION that change is a reality. Nobody is immune from change. I was not, although I was born during an era that was so prosperous that we all began to think that trees could grow to the sky. But I learned to recognize that change is inevitable, a theme that has become my life philosophy. Once I recognized change’s inevitability, I lived my life accordingly, not in a constant state of paranoia, but, rather, in a state of preparedness.
Step 2 — Gain the PERSPECTIVE that change is often neither all positive nor all negative. I have come to believe that the “good old days” are usually replaced by a set of good new days. Change is not automatically all good or all bad. It often depends on what you make of it. Positive change is bound to bring you good fortune if you are prepared to let it do so. Negative change is more difficult, but even that may be a catalyst for renewal or advancement if you turn that change to your advantage.
Step 3 — Learn the art of PROGNOSTICATION, which is all about predicting the future the best you can before the future happens to you. Through awareness, education, and an alert attitude, you can learn to foretell change to some extent. There are experts out there who provide you with all the information you need IF you take the time to listen. Did you ever notice that some things seemed obvious in retrospect? (“Oh, I should have known that you were planning a surprise party for me!”) That’s because we realize the signs were there all along. We can learn to read many of those signs earlier and be that much ahead of the game.
Step 4 — Practice PROACTIVE PREPARATION for whatever you see is coming down the road. Once you have a sense of changes that may be coming down the road, it is important to assess your preparedness to face them, whatever those changes may be. This is where your imagination can fly. For example, if things start to look shaky in your workplace, picture yourself as your own corporation — The (YOUR NAME) Company — an organization with a mission, a market, and profit centre. To determine how competitive this new corporation will be, you must assess yourself honestly and thoroughly. Looking internally, what are your strengths and weaknesses? Looking to the outer world, what opportunities and threats lie ahead? If, in a different scenario, you show signs of change in your health, it is time to see your physician, get the diagnosis if there is one, and then plan the steps that will get you in the best form possible.
Step 5 — Develop PLANNING — a step-by-step strategy that will meet your defined goals. Once you have assessed your skills and the external factors that may affect your future, it is important to take your thoughts and create a plan of action. You will learn about plans that kept the rich and famous as rich and famous as they were before they faced their own life-altering changes. In fact, many of them took calculated steps to surmount the odds they faced, and they thrived in the face of adversity.
Step 6 — Implement PERFORMANCE of your plan, executing all of its elements superbly. Writing down a plan is one thing. Bringing it to fruition is another. You must get into the mental discipline that is necessary to execute your plan and make it a reality. Yes, Epictetus, the slave who would grow to be a great Greek philosopher, advised millennia ago, “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” Unfortunately, saying and doing are entirely different. The most important of our tasks is execution of our plans. We will discuss this notion later in the book.
The end of every chapter contains An Intermission for Your Transition — exercises that help guide you through your own experiences. They are designed to help bring your deepest thoughts to the front of your brain, where you can deal with them more effectively. In doing so, you can begin to build a plan that can either help you deal with immediate change or create a longer-range plan that will prepare you for transitions down the road.
