This past month, my wife of 12 years got a new hairdo. With the exception of our wedding day when our friend, Nikki Zurell, worked her craft on my wife-to-be, this is the first time in the 20 years that I’ve known her that she’s changed it. In fact, according to her, its the first change she remembers in the 40 years that she’s been alive that she’s changed her hair. Still, change happens, and it was finally time for her feminine but also very utilitarian hair to go.
The aftermath of this new hairdo has left us with a fair amount of turmoil to contend with, and oddly enough, I realized today that what we’ve gone thru this past month follows the same pattern of growing pains that many companies, large and small, go through on a regular basis as they grow and upgrade.
Identifying the Problem
Problems come in all shapes and sizes, but the first step is in identifying them. Louanna’s problems were twofold. First, she didn’t like her hair getting in her face. Whenever she drove the car with the windows open or got into a situation where her head was tilted the wrong way, her hair got in the way. The second was aesthetic; she felt at her age the style didn’t suit her anymore. So, she had an actual functional problem to deal with as well as an issue with her image, which she felt needed at least a partial reboot.
Deciding on a Solution
Find an expert, or become one yourself. She started out by trying a number of home-brewed solutions. The occasional headband, scrunchy or hair tie were employed. I’ve got photos of ‘Aunt Jemima’ style bandana wearing. All of these had their own drawbacks. Eventually it was time for an expert, and she made an appointment with the afore mentioned Nikki. After explaining the problem, Nikki reviewed a number of possible options with her. Eventually a decision was made. Her hair got chopped. A solution was implemented.
In the mind of most, this should have been the end, right? Wrong. I’ll fill you in on a few of them later.
