In today\u2019s business environment, change is inevitable. It\u2019s all around us . . . new government regulations are thrust upon us, new competitors enter our market as old competitors leave, and new technologies make current technologies obsolete. Yet our instincts are to resist change.\u00a0 After all, we perform well doing things the way we do them now.\u00a0 We\u2019re efficient and we\u2019re successful using our current methods.\u00a0 If we change, our instincts tell us, we\u2019ll have to go through a learning curve which will hurt our efficiency for awhile, and who knows?\u00a0 Maybe we won\u2019t be as successful as we were before we enacted these changes.\u00a0 So do we resist the forces of change as long as we can, hoping to eke out every last benefit we can from our current way of doing business?\u00a0 Or do we see the changes coming at us as opportunities and embrace them, enacting them as fast as we can?\u00a0 For some perspective on this dilemma, please continue reading below.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI do not believe you can do today\u2019s job with yesterday\u2019s methods and be in business tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>– Nelson Jackson<\/em><\/p>\n First, let\u2019s be clear. When a significant change impacts your market, you can adapt to the change or you can go out of business.\u00a0 If you decide to continue along your merry way, ignore the change and hope it will go away, you will have selected the \u201cgoing out of business\u201d option.\u00a0 In certain situations, you may want to delay adapting your business to the new market dynamics, but don\u2019t delude yourself into thinking, \u201cThis will all blow over and we can get back to business as usual.\u201d\u00a0 Think of the Luddites who thought they could stop the Industrial Revolution.\u00a0 Think of IBM who brushed aside the PC as a toy that would never have any commercial value.\u00a0 Ignoring significant change didn\u2019t work out too well for them, and it won\u2019t for you either. Think of the Nelson Jackson quote above.<\/p>\n \u201cOutstanding performance is inconsistent with fear of failure.\u201d <\/strong>– Peter Drucker<\/em><\/p>\n Then let\u2019s consider the above quote from management guru Peter Drucker. If we except that change is inevitable and that successfully adapting to that change is essential to the long-term health of our business, then we must also except that if our culture encourages fear of failure, our organization might be slow to respond to important changes.<\/p>\n Change does involve risk. It doesn\u2019t matter if the change is thrust upon us or if we enter it voluntarily, it still involves risk.\u00a0 So if you want \u201coutstanding performance\u201d from your people as you try to manage change, they need to be confident of your support and focused on positive outcomes.\u00a0 If they are afraid of failure, they may be overly cautious and instead of playing to win, they may play not to lose which will allow a nimble, aggressive competitor an opening to win the game.<\/p>\n Change is inevitable, and the pace of change will continue to accelerate. But the good news is, change usually does provide opportunity to those who can spot it early, and to those teams who are confident in their abilities and who can fearlessly reach out and grab it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In today\u2019s business environment, change is inevitable. It\u2019s all around us . . . new government regulations are thrust upon us, new competitors enter our market as old competitors leave, and new technologies make current technologies obsolete. Yet our instincts are to resist change.\u00a0 After all, we perform well doing things the way we do<\/p>\n