Evolution, Not Revolution

Historically I’ve referred to myself as ‘revolutionising the property management industry’. 

While I’ve always wanted to play the trumpet, blowing ones own metaphorical one does not constitute success, and I’ve changed my mind (and LinkedIn status to boot).

Since setting up POD I’ve realised revolutionising the industry requires a great paradigm shift in attitudes - be they emotional, legislative, political, financial or technological – and in reality I am not sure it even possible to do it without significant help from things outside my control. So instead, we see ourselves as ‘evolutionary’ not ‘revolutionary’.

By concentrating on making small alterations or advancements to processes and/or how we use technology, and then putting them through a constant cycle of analysis and improvement, we’ve learned to evolve in to something better. At the same time, we’ve challenged ourselves to step outside the constant revolution (OK, not quite the same meaning but you know what I mean) that occurs when you jump on the same merry-go-round as others thinking “if ain’t broke then don’t try to fix it.” It might just be that a better way hasn’t been found yet and until we test it, we won’t know the answer. 

Now, you may say there is little difference between those two words but I beg to differ. Evolution refers to a slow and gradual change whereas revolution refers to a sudden, dramatic and complete change. It’s those small changes, be they positive or negative, that allows us to make progress in a more structured and manageable fashion that benefits our customers.

Revolutions tend to be forceful acts of change (be they good or bad and can be met with resistance) but nature has shown us that evolution can produce truly miraculous results.