Can You See the Butterfly? A Parable of Problems, Possibilities and Potential

Everyone knows about caterpillars and butterflies. If the caterpillars don’t change, they never become butterflies, right?

But author and change consultant Bill Markin has given the story a whole new twist that makes the message both timely and provocative in Can You See the Butterfly?: A Parable of Problems, Possibilities and Potential.

The story begins in the first summer of creation when the caterpillars, enjoying the bounty of their little garden, decide to organize and form a company. From here, the reader will recognize many familiar characters, from the counting caterpillars who first notice that the supply of leaves is starting to drop off to the benevolent but befuddled Top Caterpillar who, as the first autumn approaches, simply doesn’t know how to deal with the changes occurring all around him.

At a time when most businesses, organizations and people are facing profound changes all around them, the parable of The Caterpillar Company will strike a familiar note for many. Yet, Markin contends, what we all have to do is look beyond what we are and have always been to see the enormous untapped potential within all of us, and actively embrace change as an opportunity…-- the chance to be the butterfly.

Written in the style of a children’s book, with delightful illustrations by Paul Combs, Can You See the Butterfly? is a quick and enjoyable read that packs an important, thought-provoking, and highly inspirational message for anyone facing change in their work or life.

The warm, witty style that has made Bill Markin a popular keynote speaker carries a powerful message: that change is not something to be feared or even just accepted, but something to be embraced and fostered as an enormous opportunity.

As Chairman of The Lauerer Markin Group, Inc. and a cofounder of Woodlands Consulting Group, Bill has been practicing what he preaches for more than 30 years, helping businesses successfully develop and launch both new products – from toothpaste to transit buses – and whole new business ventures, for clients in fields ranging from heavy equipment to health care.