The Regeneration Matrix is, I believe, a core framework – if not the core framework – for understanding transformation. Not transformations, the fifth and final economic offering, but transformation – how entities regenerate, whether people, organizations, communities, societies, or anything else human.
Transformation begins with Recognition, the identification of something “other” than oneself, something that you appreciate. It could be as small as the swing of a fellow golfer that you look on with admiration, and as large as someone you meet to whom you find an immediate attraction, thinking “Hmmm, this could be the one. . . .”. It could be as ordinary as a new hairstyle you see on a person on the subway, and as exotic as a lifestyle you see in a movie. Or it could be as physical as the washboard abs you see on someone at the gym, or as spiritual as a pastor’s message you hear at church.
Whatever it is that you recognize, the next phase of transformation you may (or may not) progress to is Distinction, shifting from merely liking something to having the aspiration of gaining that same characteristic, having that same ideal, or being that same type of person. It becomes a desire to change, to have that same distinction in your life, on your person, within your identity. You now not only identify with the distinction but embrace it.