Mr. Kitty is Stuck in her Ways. Are You?

fat gray cat sunning

My female cat, Mr. Kitty is a bit picky about her food, unlike her South Park namesake. She only likes Meow Mix. Dry. From a bag. The list of things she won’t even try includes:

  • Milk
  • Cheese
  • Tuna
  • Salmon
  • Canned cat food
  • Chicken, turkey, bacon, etc.

Talk about brand loyalty. I don’t know what they put in that stuff–the feline version of MSG, maybe? Generous doses of catnip?–but if we don’t lock it up, she tears open the bag and gorges herself, which is why she is gradually achieving a shape approaching a perfect sphere.

Anyway, this post is not really about my cat, it’s about resistance to change. The other day at a meeting of HR minds, an HR Director revealed that his boss who happens to be a CFO, “won’t let me try online applications.” Thus he is stuck managing boxes of paper with no reprieve. And he is missing out on great sources of applicants by limiting himself to the paper trade.

I was curious about the rationale for this. It turns out the CFO argued that if they allowed people to apply online, how would they know that the person actually completed the form his/herself, without help?

I said, if the CFO applied for a new job, would he create his own resume himself, with no guidance or review? I doubt it! In fact, he’ll probably pay someone to do it for him, and rightly so. Why is that okay, but applicants have to fill out paper applications in front of us so that we know they can read, write and follow directions?

The HR Director said, “Hmmm.”

I’ve thought a lot about that conversation since. How am I too stuck in my ways?  Are there ways in which I, like Mr. Kitty, limit myself and miss out on a bounty of new and possibly better experiences because I’m comfortable in my safe zone?  What procedures in my HR department need to be examined, tweaked, updated or thrown out?

And is there a possible modeling career with Meowmix in Mr. Kitty’s future?

This is not an actual photo of my cat, though it looks just like Mr. Kitty. Photo credit:  threefatcats

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