So what is a RuleBreaker and  ChangeMaker?

As a rule, people can be sectioned into two groups:

– 85%: those that talk about success

– 15%: those that actually do something to bring success into being; this is  the niche occupied by RuleBreakers and Changemakers!

RULEBREAKERS: These renegades and rebels who persistently challenge accepted social norms and seek to disrupt the status quo. The 85% (the talkers) revere them f0r their boldly courageous rule-breaking – wishing they themselves were brave enough to break the rules. Conversely, the 15% (the doers) understand that the RuleBreaker is not ‘breaking the law’ as such, but proactively and positively challenging the norms so unquestioningly accepted by the 85%. They are perceived as Opinion- and Thought Leaders.

CHANGEMAKERS: these are the people who possess the effective combination of skill and passion to catalyse real and lasting change. They are able to influence the 15% to become Change Agents themselves.

Change is effected only by first fully understanding, then challenging and breaking of these norms and rules. However, this fact needs to be accepted before the rules are broken. This is often overlooked and then you will hear people saying ‘this is just change for the sake of change’. Only then can strategic change can be successfully implemented, change needs to be communicated well and without understanding the existing rules (status quo) the communication will be weak and the resistance to change high.

FACT: just 5% of the 15% will bring change about and make a difference. Do you possess the vision and bold determination to be a ChangeMaker? Don’t forget you will need to be a RuleBreaker first!

However, what is particularly exciting about the Digital Age is how ChangeMakers have had to couple their determination with a new – and constantly evolving – skill set. In the Industrial Age, ChangeMakers birthed success through sheer determination. The Digital Age, to the contrary, requires not only determination to cause success, but a new and constantly evolving skill set that – if not pursued and acquired – will leave individuals and businesses behind in a sort of economic and cultural extinction.

The key then, is to boldly adventure into the Digital Age – and always be open to growing, pushing boundaries and persistently adding to our skill sets. Be wary of who you seek advice from. Self-proclaimed gurus and experts become stuck because they believe they no longer need to earn and grow, causing those who seek their guidance to become stuck themselves. Surround yourself instead with people who are authentic, openly evolving and heading in the same direction as you – or the direction you want to be heading in.