change – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Not More Life As Usual

Posted January 1, 2024January 1, 2024
by admin

Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. – Nido Qubein

Some years back, I read an account of the U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) and how it came to be set at 4 ft., 8 and one-half inches.

Why was it set at such an odd number? The reason? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and American railroads were built by British expatriates.

But why did the English adopt that particular gauge? Because the people who built the pre-railroad tramways used that gauge.

They in turn were locked into that guage because the people who built tramways used the same standards and tools they had used for building wagons, which were set on gauge of 4 feet, 8 and one-half inches.

Why were the wagons built to that scale? Because with any other size, the wheels did not match the old wheel ruts on the road.

So who built the old rutted roads? The first long-distance highways in Europe were built by Imperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been in use ever since. Roman war chariots first made the ruts. Four feet, eight-and-one-half inches was the width a chariot needed to be to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses.

The account of the railroad system is emblematic of the way many people go about accepting and living their lives.

Many people find themselves living their lives according to the “standard gauge” that others have placed upon them. Breaking free from this entrapment of low expectations is nothing more than a pipe dream filled with “one of these days” thinking that slowly turns into faded memories of what could have been.

As you read this, reflect briefly on why you do what you do. Think of the patterns and routines in your life. Are you in the driver’s seat as it pertains to your goals, dreams, and aspirations? What gets you up early in the morning and keeps you up late at night? What are you pursuing in life that you are passionate about? And, are you moving in the direction of those passions?

I know that “standard gauge” thinking – accepting things because “it’s always been this way”- is the greatest obstacle standing in the way of where your heart, passion, and talents could otherwise take you. It’s what kills your dreams and causes you to:

Embrace the status quo
Believe that success is out of your reach
Believe that you are trapped where you are
Believe that others are more deserving of success than you

Zig Ziglar said, “If you don’t see yourself as a winner, then you cannot perform as a winner.” And this is my challenge for you:

Don’t allow the “standard gauge” of others to define who God has created you to be and to become.
Don’t allow your negative self-talk to defeat you
Don’t be afraid to take risks, fail, and try again!

My prayer for you in 2024 is that you will:

Deepen your perspective of who you are and why you were created (your spiritual life which grounds you)
Align yourself with like-minded people who share your values (this is your tribe who you share life with)

Welcome to 2024! May it be your best yet!

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Check These Boxes For Effective Change

Posted October 2, 2023October 2, 2023
by admin

Whether you are a success or failure in life has little to do with your circumstances; it has much more to do with your choices. – Nido Qubein

How adaptive to change are you? Are you an early adapter or a reluctant embracer of change? What is your initial response to the word change? What emotion does it invoke when you hear the word? Do you naturally resist change?

In his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Maxwell shares the following story about a lonely woman who purchased a parrot from a pet store:

After only one day of having it, she returned to the store and told the storekeeper how disappointed she was with it. “That parrot hasn’t said a word yet!” she lamented.

“Does it have a mirror?” asked the storekeeper. “Parrots like to be able to look at themselves in the mirror.” So the lady bought a mirror and returned home.

The next day she was back again, reporting that the bird still wasn’t speaking. “What about a ladder?” the storekeeper asked. “Parrots enjoy walking up and down a ladder.” So the parrot owner bought a ladder and returned home.

On the third day, she was back again with the same complaint. “Does the parrot have a swing?” was the shopkeeper’s solution. “Birds enjoy relaxing on a swing.” She bought the swing and went home.

The next day she returned to the store and announced that the bird had died. “I’m terribly sorry to hear that,” said the storekeeper. “Did the bird ever say anything before it died?”

“Yes,” said the lady. “It said, ‘Don’t they sell any food down there?’”

What’s the moral of this silly story? Change for the sake of change isn’t going to help you. If you are going to make changes, you must make sure they’re the right ones.

This humorous story illustrates that while we can be busy making changes in hopes of a different outcome, change for the sake of change does not guarantee it.

Wiring in Management Journey, Robert Tanner states, “The truth is that human beings do not naturally resist change. We accept changes to our lives all the time, especially when we like the change that others present to us. We will change if we believe the change will be beneficial to us.” And this is a challenge for many leaders. How well do you communicate the benefits of change in a way that people will step out of their comfort zones and embrace it?

We resist change for the obvious reasons:

Fear of the unknown
Loss of control
Lack of clarity or understanding of why the change is beneficial

Or it could simply come down to what my good friend Jeff Turner says, “I’m pretty stubborn”, which is reflective of how many of us feel about change at times. We just don’t want to go there.

If you are a leader about to implement change in any capacity, make sure you have checked these boxes before proceeding.

This change is the right change and comes at the right time

Nothing could be worse than making the right change at the wrong time. Make sure that the change is right and your timing is right. If not, you are about to navigate some rough times.

This change reflects a consensus of your key people

Making change without the input and counsel of your key people can cause great damage. The people most impacted by a major change should be seated at the table during discussions prior to the change being implemented.

This change aligns with your values

When implementing any change within your organization, make sure that it does not in any way conflict with your core values. Any change being considered or implemented should be a compliment to your values, not an obstruction to them.

This change is worth defending

When all is said and done, any change worth implementing in your organization must be one worth defending with integrity. If you can’t defend it, don’t implement it.

This change will stretch us

As is the case oftentimes, change will stretch you as a leader and it will stretch your team. Growth tends to do that. It will move you out of your comfort zone, cause you to look at your challenges in a different light, and grow you beyond what you previously thought possible.

Final Thoughts

Not all change is good. Not all is bad. How it works for you is the result of the choices you make along the way.

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Making Course Corrections

Posted August 3, 2023August 3, 2023
by admin

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. – Lao Tzu

In 1829, Martin Van Buren, then Governor of New York, wrote the following to the President:

The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as ‘railroads.’ The federal government must preserve our canals for these reasons: If canal boats are supplanted by railroads, serious unemployment will result. Captains, cooks, drivers, hostlers, repairmen, and lock tenders will be left without any means of livelihood.

Canal boats are essential to our defense. In the event of trouble with England, the Erie Canal could be the only means by which we could move supplies. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel through the countryside at the breakneck speed of 15 miles per hour.

This letter is a bit humorous now in the context of how far we have progressed with the railroads in the modern era. But the letter reflects the predominant thinking of the day as it relates to transportation.

As leaders, how we perceive change and what measures we are willing to embrace will in many respects determine the type of future we can expect. If you are stuck in your thinking and see change as a threat to your current existence, you will eventually be left behind. Click To Tweet

So what is a leader to do? Here are a few tips on how to make course corrections that will be necessary in your leadership.

Course corrections are just that – corrections

It’s important to know that course corrections in your leadership are just that – corrections. It’s not that the way you are doing now is necessarily wrong, but it can be improved upon. Obviously, the railroad turned out to be a significantly better means of transportation than canals.

When you are open to corrections and ways of improving your operations, it’s good to see it as a way to make you more efficient and productive and not as a threat to the outdated way of doing things.

Course corrections move you out of your comfort zones

If the mindset of Van Buren had prevailed, it would have set back a more efficient way of operating on the canals. And while the change over to the railroads was inevitable, many still embraced a canal boat mindset.

Think about your own leadership for just a moment. In what areas do you find yourself resisting changes that could actually make you a better leader? Perhaps you’ve held on to the canal boat mentality for a bit too long and it’s trapped you in a comfort zone that is no longer serving you well.

Course corrections position you for greater possibilities

Proper course corrections can position you for greater possibilities when you see them not as a threat but as a benefit. Canal boats did the job, just slower than the railroad. And while Van Buren mistakenly believed at the time that the breakneck speed of 15 miles per hour was way too fast, consider the cost of slower and inefficient work it would create.

When you embrace course corrections, it’s not about disrespecting what brought you to where you are, it is about embracing a new future that builds upon it.

Final Thoughts

In leadership, you will often be faced with the necessity of course corrections. When you are, embrace the possibilities before you. Victor Hugo said, “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots.” And this is your challenge as a leader.

What course corrections are you making?

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A recent video post to my channel.

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How Change Impacts Your Leadership (Part Two)

Posted May 17, 2021May 17, 2021
by admin

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. – Andy Warhol

Change is a necessary and constant companion in life. Often we don’t like it, we are slow to embrace it, and sometimes we despise it. But change is a consistent disruptor in life. Like it or not, change happens.

In leadership, how well you adapt to change can be a game-changer. Consider the story of the toy company Lego. Founded in 1932 by a Danish carpenter, Lego began small with wooden toys and simple plastic building sticks.

For generations of kids growing up, like myself, building with Legos was a favorite pastime. No one would have ever thought that the popular toy would go away. But it almost did. In 2003, Lego almost went bankrupt as a result of over innovating.

To stay competitive it streamlined its business model by changing the way it managed innovation. By taking the time to see where and why it went wrong, Lego adapted to change and it remains a popular toy today.

Critical to any leader is knowing when change needs to happen and is willing to implement it. But why the resistance? Why do so many leaders self-destruct because of an unwillingness to embrace it?

In part one of this series, I identified the first three obstacles on how change impacts your leadership: comfort zones, habits, and attitude. All of these in some way or another affect the way we respond to change.

It’s time to take a look at the final three obstacles to change that impact your leadership.

Negative perceptions

Being a change agent is not easy. People are creatures of habit and once settled in routines and ways of doing things seldom want to see it change. One reason why change is so hard is the negative perceptions that surround it. And usually, this is created by opponents of change out of fear or lack of clarity surrounding it.

If you want to successfully navigate the waters of change you have to get out in front of it, anticipate the negative perceptions to it, and make the case for it. Click To Tweet It’s been said that perception is reality, but a negative perception of change can be a death-knell if not handled properly.

You can overcome negative perceptions of change but only as you skillfully make the case for it, and communicate the consequences of what happens if you don’t.

Guarded traditions

When time-honored traditions collide with the headwinds of change is when tensions are at their peak. to change is at its peak. One camp wants to move forward and innovate while the other wants to hold onto the traditional ways of doing things. Managing change while respecting the past can be done, but it takes a keen leader to make it happen.

But if traditions are guarded at the expense of progress you stifle the growth that could be yours. While change is inevitable, positive outcomes from it aren’t if you have people working against it. Get the buy-in first.

External forces

There will be times in your leadership when change is brought about by circumstances you have no control over. Covid is a case in point. Many businesses were forced to pivot and make changes in record time just to survive. Regretfully, many didn’t. While you can try to plan and anticipate any and every potential obstacle that can come your way; you’re not going to get it right one hundred percent of the time. The unexpected happens. We like to believe that the force is with us. The truth is, sometimes it’s not.

Final Thoughts

Leading change is one of the greatest challenges you’ll face in your leadership. But also one of the most rewarding when done right.

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How Change Impacts Your Leadership (Part One)

Posted May 9, 2021May 12, 2021
by admin

Change before you have to. – Jack Welch

How well do you embrace change? Is it in your nature to be an early adapter to change or are you one of the last to get on the change wagon?

It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. And while that much is true, some find it more difficult to embrace than others. To be sure, not all change is bad, and not every change is worth embracing. Somewhere in between is the tension that is real for many.

One of the most infamous changes in business history occurred back in 1985. Pundits referred to it as the “marketing blunder of the century”, and the backlash was more like a customer rebellion.

The formula for Coke had not been tampered with for 99-years. But in 1985, they changed it, and “new Coke” was released. Coke customers were not impressed. The new formula was a bust. Customers stock-piled the original Coke in their basements, the customer service hotline which normally received 400 calls a day was now receiving more than 1,500. The message Coke customers delivered was simple – the old formula has worked for

Coke Ad from 1985.
Credit: Google Images

99 years, why change it?

It took just 79 days for Coke to reverse their “marketing blunder” and revert to their original formula. It was a painful lesson at the time for Coke, and one from which every leader today can learn from.

Leading at the speed of change can be challenging. How you manage it, lead it, and how you compel others to change is important. But first and foremost, it’s an inside job. If you are not willing to change, then you may be the obstacle to progress your organization needs.

In this two-part series, I will explore six obstacles to change that hold leaders back. In this post, let’s take a look at the first three.

Comfort zones

One of the chief reasons why we resist change as individuals and in our organizational structures is that we get settled in comfort zones. It’s an autopilot mindset that we are way too comfortable with. It’s the proverbial ‘new Coke’ formula mindset – it’s been the same and has worked for 99-years, why change it?

In our comfort zones, we tend to protect the status quo and become guardians of the past. If you are a leader stuck in your comfort zone you are a leader who needs to embrace change.

Habits

Most of us are creatures of habit. And just like our comfort zones, we tend to stick close to the familiar. At times, embracing change may require relinquishing old habits for the sake of growth. But old habits can be blindspots. So long as you don’t see how your habits stand in the way of progress we will never be compelled to change.

Your leadership in many ways is an extension of the habits you’ve developed over time. Ask yourself if those habits that served you well in years gone by are still useful today? What habits need to change for the sake of change?

Attitude

Oftentimes, it’s not change itself that’s problematic, it’s our attitude towards change that’s the issue. The reason in part, I believe, is that we go straight to negative thoughts about change. We think it’s going to be something bad. We fear the unknown so we hunker down determined to preserve the way things are. We like the formula just the way it is.

If you want to be a change agent within your organization, you have to model the attitude you hope to see in others. Change is challenging enough as it is without your negative attitude to deal with.

Final Thoughts

In Part 2, I will close out How Change Impacts Your Leadership. Until then, I challenge you to look at areas of your leadership where you tend to resist change and how different things would look if you didn’t.

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What To Do When Things Aren’t Working

Posted February 9, 2021February 19, 2021
by admin

Leaders need the courage to acknowledge when something isn’t working. – Mark Batterson

One of the challenges in leadership is having the awareness of knowing when things aren’t working. Acknowledge it too late and you may not recover. But having the ability to see things as they are in real-time with the courage to change can make all the difference between success and failure. This sounds simple enough, but is it?

Take British Airways for example. Profiled in a TinyPulse blog post, they were credited for their ability to change during a difficult transitional time. After a massive merger some years ago, British Airways faced difficultly managing itself and bring a decent service in the aftermath.

The article states, “It wasn’t until its privatization and the incorporation of the new chairperson…that the company started to enjoy positive momentum-and increase their profits accordingly.” British Airways is not alone in its ability to acknowledge when things aren’t working and making the hard decisions to make things right. But not every story has the same outcome.

An article in Collective Campus highlighted 10 companies that failed to innovate resulting in business failure. One of the companies was Polaroid. When the digital camera revolution began, they were behind the curve in adapting to the times. The article states, “Falling into the ‘success trap’ by exploiting only their (historically successful) business activities, Polaroid neglected to explore new territory and enhance their long-term viability.” And herein lies the challenge in leadership.

Two distinctions emerge when analyzing the differences between the companies who succeeded and those who failed. Here are two key takeaways.

Companies that succeeded embraced change

The TinyPulse article stated that 70% of change initiatives fail as a result of bad management, poor implementation, or even back luck. But companies with the ability to adapt to change do so because they are thinking long term.

Companies that failed relied too much on past or current success

Polaroid had a long-standing history dating back to the 1930s. For many decades they had few competitors. But when the digital age arrived they were too slow in adapting and were ultimately left behind.

Measuring what’s working and what’s not is critical to your success. Here are a few ways to do it.

Evaluate honestly

Many metrics go into how you see your business and your current posture in the marketplace. Be careful not to look at things through rose-colored glasses. Acknowledge the good, identify what’s not working or underperforming, and stay informed. Surround yourself with people who will tell you what you need to hear not just what you want to hear. In the end, what you need to hear is all that matters. Click To Tweet

Know your competition

Many of the referenced businesses that failed did so not because they didn’t have a good product. They failed because they underestimated the competition and the speed of change. By the time they got around to it, it was too late. In addition, don’t look to your competition to set the pace. Make it your mission to be early adopters and set the example for the rest.

Don’t settle

Many of the businesses failed because they relied on past successes to carry them. This is a prescription for disaster. You must constantly be improving and innovating. The work and innovation that got you to where you are today likely won’t be enough to sustain you long term. Click To TweetKeep learning and improving. Be aware of coming trends and position yourself accordingly. In short, never settle for where you are today.

Get to the root causes

It’s important to know what to do when things aren’t working. But more importantly, you need to understand why it isn’t working. You need to know things like how much ground you lost before you made the discovery, what warning signs did you miss, what changes need to be made to keep it from ever happening again, etc. Get to the root causes so that you don’t make the same mistake again.

Final Thoughts

When things aren’t working it doesn’t mean failure is inevitable, it means a correction is needed. Get out in front of it quick and lead the way.

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Leadership And The Art of Change

Posted December 10, 2017
by dougdickerson

Life is a long process of getting used to things you started out to change. – Frank A. Clark

As the story goes, it was on June 4, 1783, at the market square of a French village of Annonay, not far from Paris, that a smoky bonfire on a raised platform was fed by wet straw and old wool rages. Tethered above, straining its lines was a huge taffeta bag 33 feet in diameter. In the presence of “a respectable assembly and a great many other people,” and accompanied by great cheering, the balloon was cut from its moorings and set free to rise majestically into the noon sky.

Six thousand feet in the air it went—the first public ascent of a balloon, the first step in the history of human flight. It came to earth several miles away in a field, where it was promptly attacked by pitchfork-waving peasants and torn to pieces as an instrument of evil.

From the earliest days of man, change has been a difficult proposition. We are creatures of comfort and creatures of habit. Shake up the apple cart and you will have a fight on your hands; especially if you are a leader. Take the workplace for example. In a recent survey commissioned by talent management firm Plateau and conducted by Harris Interactive, finds that 74% of workers-satisfied or not- would consider leaving if approached with another offer. In other words, change is always in the air – yes, even at your office.

Steven Covey said, “There are three constants in life; change, choice, and principles.” And as a leader how you integrate those truths is an important part of your leadership style. Here are three insights about change that will challenge the way you think about it and how it can help you as a leader.

The change we want – looks outward. In leadership when we think about the changes we want it usually has something to do with someone else. Our grumblings often center on what someone at the office is doing; or not doing, that frustrates us. People are not performing at the level you want, there is too much in-fighting or office politics, performance goals are not being met, etc.

The change you want is the frustration of your leadership. It is frustrating because it has you focused on things at the margins that steal quality time in terms of productivity. All you know is that you are frustrated and something has to change. And unfortunately, creating change out of frustration tends to lead to unhealthy choices regarding change and does not help you in the long term.

The change we need – looks inward. One of the hardest things for a leader to do is to look inward with a critical eye. The British politician Nancy Astor said, “The main dangers in this life are the people who want to change everything or nothing.” And so long as you want to change everything else but remain unwilling to change yourself it will remain an encumbrance on your leadership.

The change you need is the necessity of your leadership. It is when you honestly evaluate your strengths and weaknesses; your blind spots and attitudes that inward change begins. Improvement will only happen when you look honestly in the mirror and make the changes you need to make before expecting them from others. But it’s when you are transparent, ask for feedback, and demonstrate humility that you can begin to create a culture of change in your organization. And the day you learn to let go of the things you can’t change in other people is the day you let go of many of your frustrations as a leader.

The change we celebrate – looks upward. Max Depree said, “In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to by remaining what we are.” In leadership, the goal is not to sit back and rest in our comfort zones. We should constantly be striving to become what we need by embracing that which we must. Change is a constant and we must welcome it and be open to it if we are to grow.

The change you celebrate is the blessing of your leadership. It is a blessing when you forget about trying to change other people and change yourself. It is a blessing when you embrace your calling and purpose as a leader and fulfill your destiny not because you resisted change but because you dared to welcome it.

Bonus Feature: Click on the link below to listen to my new podcast!

https://www.spreaker.com/user/dougdickerson/margins-of-grace-in-leadership?autoplay=true

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Are We Keeping Pace As Leaders?

Posted April 21, 2017
by dougdickerson

The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang. – Mary Kay Ash

After watching this video entitled Did You Know, I will confess that I have more questions than I have answers. Perhaps you have seen the video before. It’s been updated and is well worth the look. Here are a few highlights taken from it:

China will soon become the Number One English speaking country in the world.
The 25% of India’s population with the highest I.Q.’s is greater than the population of the United States. Translation: India has more honor kids than America has kids.
The Top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.
There are 845 million monthly active users on Facebook. If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest (behind China and India).
Twitter is seeing about 50 million tweets per day, That breaks down to about 600 per second.
The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the total population of the planet.
It is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
The amount of technical information is doubling every two years. For students starting a 4-year degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

The pace at which our world is changing is breathtaking. We truly live in remarkable times. And this leads to many questions so please indulge me. My focus here is not so much about leadership “tips” or quick anecdotes, but rather reflective questions meant to awaken the leader in all of us. My questions are rhetorical but also intentional. You may have the same ones. Hopefully, you will have additional ones. I would sure like to hear them. Here are a few of mine:

Are we as leaders cognizant of how rapidly our world is changing around us and are we ahead of the curve or behind it?
What are the best leadership practices or beliefs that transcend time or culture?
In what ways have technologies helped us as leaders? In what ways has it hurt?
How do the changes that are taking place in our world change the way in which we as leaders relate to people today and going forward?
What will be our most essential leadership skills ten years from now? Will they be the same as today?
Are we raising up leaders today to meet the challenges of leadership tomorrow?
Do I have a mindset that is slanted toward embracing the changes that are happening or is it a fixed mindset that has me stuck?
Do I need to change my current leadership style to prepare me for the future?

John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life.” He was right. Change is happening at a faster pace than perhaps any of us ever expected. Are we keeping pace?

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Leadership Minute: Change Happens

Posted August 5, 2014
by admin

Every leader knows that change is hard. And, changing the things people say can’t be touched are the toughest changes. – Ron Edmondson

Navigating change as a leader is one of the toughest things you will do. People are creatures of comfort and routine and when you disturb either one you are asking for it. Before you set out on any course of change, especially when it involves touching the “sacred cows” – those long-standing traditions that everyone takes for granted, be sure you make the case for where you want to go and why. A few questions you will need to answer are: Is this the right change at the right time? If either one is in doubt, wait. Why change now and what happens if we wait? Have I made the case for change and are the key people on board with it? Change is inevitable if we want to grow. How you sell it makes the difference. Change happens best when others can shape it, take ownership of it, and at the end of the day wonder why it took you so long to make it.

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Leadership Minute: Change is an Opportunity

Change is not a threat, it’s an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is. – Seth Godin

What is your attitude towards change? Do you see it as a threat? How you embrace change as a leader will set the tone for how others in your organization embrace it. If you are not out front with the flexibility to change and grow then it will be hard for others to follow suit when it’s in your best interest to do so. By involving your people in the change process it can calm fears, create buy-in, and make the transition smooth. Not everyone will want to go there with you. Some are simply too comfortable where they are. But when transformative success is your goal change will be embraced by most. Change can be a celebration of where you’ve come from, where you are now, and where you are going in your future. But you have to embrace it. Welcome change and the possibilities that are before you.

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