Embrace Change

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We are creatures of habit and for many of us, the thought of change triggers tremendous fear. To resist the inevitable is an exercise in futility. Change is a part of life. The question becomes, do you seize the opportunity or allow others to get there first?

Successful people learn to embrace change. Instead of succumbing to fear, they see change as an opportunity. The most successful among us have the foresight to change when things are going well. It allows them to continually innovate. If you run a business and resist change, your competitors will inevitably make the changes that you are unwilling to, and take market share. Steve Jobs and Apple provide a great example. Steve was notorious for shaking up the status quo. He always had a vision for the next big thing. While Apple remains a great company without Jobs, they have yet to launch a game-changing product that wasn’t initiated by him. This has given competitors like Samsung the opportunity to thrive.

Once you initiate a change it is important to take some time to observe your new situation. A new manager takes over a department and wants to put his mark on the business. He immediately begins to shake things up. People become fearful, morale is impacted, and as a result, he loses some of his top talent. If instead, that manager took some time to observe the business, got to know the people and the process, he would have the chance to earn the respect his people. He could then begin to implement his changes gradually. It would be easier for people to adapt because the changes would happen more slowly. Employees would be less resistant because the manager’s credibility will have already been established.

If a change doesn’t work, fail quickly. Many years ago I started a construction company. The business was doing well for a while but eventually it grew beyond its niche—I needed managers to oversee things and the jobs were just not large enough to support the additional expense of oversight. Rather than accept the fact that I needed to abandon my growth strategy, I continued to try to make it work. In the end the numbers played out and I was forced to make drastic changes. If I had simply changed my strategy the moment I realized things would not work, I could have saved myself a lot of money and prevented significant stress. There’s no point in trying to save a sinking ship.

In order to successfully embrace change you need to be at peace with uncertainty. Fighting the inevitable is a futile exercise. Adapt to the opportunity that lies ahead and you’ll stay one step beyond everyone else.