My daughter is taking a photography class at her high school and they are using pin-hole cameras and 35 mm film cameras. She and her friends keep looking at the back of their cameras expecting to see the results of their shots immediately and there is nothing there! During our dinner conversations I have been sharing my memories of waiting for your pictures to be developed after you finished the entire roll of film. The excitement of picking them up, looking at each picture, loving some of them, being depressed at how bad some turned out, and then trying to remember what you did on each shot so the next roll would have all great pictures.
I think that leading change is a lot like using a 35 mm camera. We don’t get to evaluate the overall results until the end of the entire effort but the many small actions taken during the change are what determine success or failure. And it is hard to remember what they were and, more importantly, what you learned that can help you during your next change.
My father taught me to carry a small notebook, or a “lessons learned log,” when we used to shoot with film. I would record the f-stop, shutter speed and other details for each shot and then refer to it when the entire roll of film was developed – often weeks or months later.
Taking time during your change efforts to document the “lessons” you are learning will both help you evaluate the results and remember what to do and what not to do in future change efforts.
I hope you capture some great shots!