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Standing in front of 100 people the other night at a public lecture, I had two men sitting across the aisle from each other who did not know each other, but who unfortunately had a lot in common.

One was my 83-year-old father who has been retired for twenty years. Retirement wasn’t his idea, but there was this nuisance that he was being forced to learn on his job that he believed was a ridiculous fad. That fad was also known as a computer.

The other man was in his fifties and he was complaining about his recent interviewing experiences and how it’s been difficult to land a new job. We began brainstorming about unusual ways to run his job search, and I mentioned being on Linkedin. He immediately barked back that he didn’t ‘do’ social media. Not a great strategy for someone with a strong resume looking to expand their network and find new opportunity.

I understand that things change faster than most of us can absorb, but to flat out refuse to accept what has become the norm is self-sabotage. There is no excuse for that and no sympathy if things are not going your way.

Changing gears a bit, we’ve often heard of the ‘game’ of politics in a workplace. Politics are not everyone’s cup of tea and those who choose not to engage in it may or may not suffer the consequences. One could argue that it’s also a saboteurial move to not engage in office politics. But I don’t agree.

Fitting in with the culture of an organization is important, and if you are not a fit because you don’t ‘play the game’ you may well need find something else. However, it’s not detrimental to your employability.

On the other hand, refusing to master technology required to do your job or conducting a job search based on outdated strategies is not about honoring your values or not fitting in with a culture. It’s about making yourself obsolete. Please don’t do it.

How do you know if a new “fad” is worth following or not? Easy. Look at your results. Are you getting what you want? If not, you owe it to yourself to consider what you’ve judged as unnecessary. The bottom line is: Is the stance you’re taking hurting or helping you?

I am not without empathy in our rapidly changing world. Change is hard. When entire industries are disappearing or being forced to reinvent, we do not have the luxury to stand still.

In the 1980’s movie, War Games, two teens hacked a government computer that was playing all the possible moves that could result in nuclear war, and it became their job to beat the computer and save the world. The end game was discovering that ‘the only way to win was not to play the game’. For office politics, I’m on board with that. For changes to how we do business in this ever-changing landscape, not so much. You’ll take yourself out of the game altogether.

Grow, stretch, and remain relevant. Dig your heels in too deep and you’ll watch the world pass you by.

Coaching Questions:

What changes are you dragging your feet on that you know you must act on?
What do you know you need to stop or start doing immediately?
What will make the difference to your project, mission, or goal right now?

Let us know how we can help.

*From the movie War Games (1983)