Stories of Transformation

Change is constant. How we adapt isn’t. That’s true for our personal and professional lives—it’s part of the human experience.

No matter the cause of the change, the success outcome is largely measured by how well we react and respond to it. I know now that even the most challenging and difficult situations can bring out the best in us, spurring our creativity and strengthening our commitment to continuous improvement. And those who make changes that positively impact others are, often unknowingly, the heroes of someone else’s story.

Not all heroes wear capes

Heroes show up in all types of circumstances and in all shapes and sizes. Generally, a hero is someone who’s done something admirable and impactful that improves the lives of others. Some of those things are small acts or interactions that can go unnoticed, especially in the business environment.

We’re seeking to change that.

DocuSign is celebrating the stories of people who’ve had to rethink and change the way work gets done. It takes courage and a bit of fearlessness to embrace change, reimagine a new way and then bring everyone together in agreement. And that’s only half the battle: you also have to be committed to keeping that positive change moving forward, continuously evaluating and improving.

My role at DocuSign allows me to spend a lot of time with customers, and I’ve been fortunate to witness many of these stories first-hand over the last two years. I’d like to share a couple here, and encourage you to read each of them in more detail. We hope this will help you think of someone you know who has a hero story worth celebrating. If so, we’d love for you to nominate them here.

Real stories of real change

David
Meet David. He’s VP of strategic development at Dilawri, Canada’s largest automotive dealer group. Anyone who’s purchased a car knows it can be a time-consuming experience. Think of all the comparisons, test drives and forms to complete and sign. Now imagine having to do all that remotely. Seems impossible—but not for David and Dilawri.

Through a mixture of e-signature technology and remote payment tools, David helped all of Dilawri’s dealers continue to operate during the lockdown. Even better, their customers have shown a continued preference for the convenience of remote transactions, so there’s no U-turn in sight on their journey to full digital transformation.

Tracy
Here’s Tracy. She works as an information systems analyst for Louisville Metro Government. While change can happen in government, it’s typically an incremental and slower-paced process. Thankfully, Tracy excels at embracing and driving positive change.

For Kentucky’s largest city, “Paper-free by 2023” isn’t just a catchy slogan. It’s Louisville’s plan to be more sustainable in their operations; reducing paper waste is a huge component. But while that effort was the initial driver, the pandemic accelerated the need for digital transformation.

Tracy implemented e-signature technology to cut paper waste, which also resulted in substantial cost savings. But the best part happened next: the agency—and people’s lives—were transformed by unexpected productivity gains. And when the pandemic hit, that meant Louisville Metro could focus on positively impactful things like streamlining processes at a mass vaccination site and helping people with utilities and eviction prevention. READ MORE...

Change is the only constant

During the summer of 1972, I was honorably discharged from the US Navy after serving 21 months on active duty in communications...  I served on a salvage/rescue ship and was stationed at Little Creek at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia...  During the last 6 months of my enlistment our ship was deployed on a Med Cruise and when we left port, I decided I was not going to shave until I was discharged.  So, the beard you see in the photo is the result of a little over 6 months of growth and never trimmed.  Once home in NC, I kept the beard for a couple of days then shaved it off.  I wore a mustache for a few years, then a goatee for a couple of more and have been clean shaven ever since.

I was 25 years old and had completed 3 years of college before enlisting in the military because I was not sure if I wanted to be a college student or not...  It did not take me long to realize that college was the only way for me to have a successful future.  In 1974, I was awarded a BA in English and in 1981, I was awarded an MBA...  And, while I could have used my MBA to earn massive amounts of money, I would have had to relocate much farther NORTH than Virginia and I just did not want to do that.  So, the trade off was a high salary for a slow pace life.

And, while my life was of a slow pace, all the jobs that I accepted in NC, TN, KY were anything but slow paced with the realization that the only thing I had escaped was being in a lot of traffic at rush hour.  As a result, I suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 60 that should have killed me but because I was so damn healthy due to constant exercising, I survived because my body had created its own bypass which at the time I thought was amazing and still do.

I have had about 10 employers during my 45 year career all of whom were pains-in-the-ass and did not want "free thinkers" but someone they could control to do their bidding, using numbers to measure and control their future employment.

Not only was I in a constant state of change, I taught change and continuous improvement of processes in a variety of industries:  Education, Manufacturing, Retail, Government, Military, Healthcare, Publishing, Printing, Automotive, Service, and Non-Profits.  Small scale, incremental, day-to-day changes in the way the work gets down...  including continuous improvement in how I delivered my material.

Change in the only constant in life besides the passing of time and the fact that we all grow older and what's done is done and can never really be redone since the past can never be revisited...  as it is always the present and whatever was done is now NEW.  That is to say...  a company can NEVER have any STANDARD OPERATION PROCEDURES if they are making continuous improvement by DEFAULT...

Some people find that UNSETTLING...  to say the least...