Guy Kawasaki has posted his newest interview in his On Innovation column at Sun. This time he interviews Ariane de Bonvoisin of The First Thirty Days which deals with change. Question 3 is Why are some people and businesses better at change than others? and what struck me is that you could replace change with testing in most of her answers. Or at the very least the traits describe I would consider helpful in testers.

  1. They have a positive belief about change and are generally optimistic. I call these people “change optimists.”
  2. They believe in the change guarantee: that something good always comes from change.
  3. They know that they possess a “change muscle”–that they are strong, capable, powerful, and intuitive enough to handle any change that comes into their lives or that they want to initiate.
  4. They refuse to become paralyzed by “change demons”–negative emotions that arise during change.
  5. They don’t resist change–choosing instead to accept the reality of their situation.
  6. They understand that their thoughts, the words they say and the feelings they allow themselves to experience during change have a direct affect on how easily they move through the transition.
  7. They believe that life has a deeper meaning than what can easily be seen or felt, that something greater is at play, and that no change is arbitrary.
  8. They surround themselves with a support team to help them move through change.
  9. They refuse to get stuck during change. They keep moving and take care of themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally.