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Patti Digh, author of Life Is a Verb, spoke to a packed and emotional room at Great Ideas this morning--her talk moved a lot of people (myself included). Reading over my notes, it's hard to pick one central point to highlight.

One comment of Patti's that really spoke to me personally was this: "We complain about the culture we're in as if we're only visitors here--but we create the culture!" It's easy to complain to colleagues about things you can't do because "our culture," "the board," or "the higher-ups" won't allow it. But, Patti argued, your choices are part of what keeps that culture stuck in that same mode.

Can you go to work tomorrow morning and announce to everyone that "We're going to be completely different from now on!" and have it magically happen? Probably not. But you can make choices that lead to the culture you want rather than the culture you have. If you make those choices consistently and are committed to the change you want to make, you'll inspire others. And once others are making choices that reinforce yours ... powerful change can happen.

Admittedly, that sounds easier than it really is; making choices that go against your organization's existing culture, and making those choices consistently over time, is hard. But it can be done. It's been done. You could do it too.