Evolution and the Hot Pink Gecko

Our first cash register came out of a dumpster in 1999.  That's not hyperbole.  It really did.  I climbed right into the dumpster and salvaged it myself.  It was a TEC MA-1400, and that register served us faithfully for 11 years.  We quite literally rang millions of dollars of sales with it.  Our dumpster register shared an organic sympatico with Kaladi Coffee.  It fit like an old shoe.

In keeping with old-shoeness, though, it also got to be a little dull and ratty.  The evolution of Square and the iPad register made us want something new.  So we bought an iPad and a new cash drawer and a fancy printer. 

I always expect change to hurt.  For a time, the confusion and angst and cash flow morass that came out of the new register felt like a normal growing pain.  My staff and I had to learn something new, and the learning hampered our ability to do business. I was determined that we should evolve.

But then there came a Magic Moment.  A Terrible, Awful Magic Moment.  The pain was normal until...well...it became Definitely Not Normal..  It was that 3:00 AM instant when you realize your bad-gas stomachache is actually a rupturing appendix. It was time to ditch Square and the iPad.

Our culture worships newness and youth and sexiness and evolution.  It is very easy to get caught up in the hype and the shininess of the great new things around us.  But we need to remember that in and of itself, newness is not necessarily goodness.  Change is not necessarily Progress.  It is easy to forget that the vast majority of evolutionary change results in extinction.

From its ordinary green parents, the gecko that happened to be born with natural camouflage sand-colored skin did just fine.  Its three brothers and sisters, though...the ones that came out blue and orange and hot pink?  They were a beautiful breakfast for a hungry buzzard. 

We can't run away from evolution, or from the pain and fear that come with it.  To stay in the same place is in some way to ensure our imminent passing.  But we have a great advantage in that we can THINK about our evolution and CHOOSE our own path.  We can evaluate what may kill us, and what may make us stronger.  And when we have made a well-intentioned misstep, we can choke down another fat slice of humble pie, correct our error, and get back to business.

Happy Thanksgiving to the 99%, to the 1%, the 47% (I guess there's a corresponding 53%, eh?) and any other percents that managed to escape the pigeonhole.  I personally appreciate the way each and every one of us contributes to America and to the world in which we live.