Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59297
From the Editors Big Moves, Big Rewards I recently sold my house and moved to a new home. I was so busy envisioning a bright and beautiful new residence that the move itself seemed incidental. Five years had passed since my last relocation, and I'd long since forgotten just how challenging and overwhelm- ing the process can be. It seemed that the more stuff I boxed and bagged, the more stuff I had to bag and box. By the end, I was left debating just how to lift and pack three 60-pound bags of cement from an earlier outdoor project (very carefully, one at a time); just what was the best way to secure three goldfish and a partially drained 26-gallon aquarium (with a seatbelt, in the front seat of the car); or just whether it was worth keeping those Better Homes & Gardens magazines I'd care- fully collected since 2000 (it wasn't). Two sleep- and energy-deprived weeks later, I look back with disbelief that I was able to finish the move at all. And, surpris- ingly, I experienced a touch of sadness at leaving my old house, even if I was making a change for the better. But I also realized that such transitions, although not without their pain and challenges, can be absolutely necessary. As creatures of habit, many of us would stay well within our comfort zones if we could. In doing so, we'd miss too many of the advantages that accompany the challenges of moving on: upgrades to better environments, chances for new experiences, changes in perspective. Big moves compel us to clear out the mish- mash and make a clean transition from one phase to the next. These benefits can come from a move to a new location, as we describe in this month's Spotlight. In July 2005, Singapore Manage- ment University moved from its old suburban grounds to a new city campus. Or, the benefits can come from a transition to a new mindset, as Boston University's Louis Lataif calls for in his article "B-Schools and the Common Good." He argues that it's time for business schools to turn the public away from its tendency to link business with scan- dal, greed, and corruption. It's time, he says, to show society how the efforts and innovations of enterprise increase the quality of life for all the world's citizens. Neither type of move is easy, but both are cer- tainly worthwhile. One thing is clear: Big moves take time and effort at any level, whether it's to a new home or campus, or to a new way of perceiv- ing business's impact on the world. But with planning, persistence, and patience, such shifts can have a tremendously positive impact for years to come. We just have to be willing to do what it takes to make the trip. ■ z 6 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2006 BILL BASCOM