Ready for Change

Change in business–when it is positive–means business growth. Most people focus only on the rosy aspects of business growth: new customers, more sales, and an easing of cash flow constraints. Yet, there are challenges: time pressure, feeling overwhelmed and overworked, loss of control, quality and/or consistency issues, and a need to make changes in operations and staffing. Change causes all sorts of stress, challenges, disruption, and just general chaos. You have to take the bad with the good, so here are some suggestions for how to navigate change successfully.

On the rosy side, change can mean new markets, new customers and more sales. Chip and Dan Heath, in their book Switch, talk about making positive change by figuring out what is working and doing more of that. They call it “finding the bright spots.” This makes a lot of sense for a business growth perspective. Figure out what is going right (i.e. where are sales growing, for what products and with what customers), and put your time, energy and focus on those sales efforts.

Business growth means that something in the market has changed. Either your existing customers want more or you have found new customers. It is great to see revenue figures climbing, but you better know what is really behind it if you want to maintain growth. Are you gaining sales because the customers see your company as the only solution or because you are doing a great job delivering on their needs? From a new business perspective, growing market segments with poor customer satisfaction provide a ripe opportunity for a new business to jump in and snatch up business. For established businesses, the challenge to make sure that you don’t leave a door open for new competitors to come in. Take the time to understand the causes of change so you can adjust and adapt appropriately.

When it comes to the the challenges of business growth, there is no easy way around them. Common challenges with business growth include: staff feeling disconnected and not aware of what others are doing; the team has a lack an understanding of the firm’s ultimate goals; product quality fluctuates; personnel turnover; and the company leadership is exhausted because they still feel they need be personally involved with every sale. Sound familiar? These are common symptoms and the solution is not simple. Business growth means the business has changed and in many ways it must be run differently. It is time to put some careful though and energy into leadership, delegation, and company culture. Growth provides a great opportunity to move the company into a new structure that better serves everyone’s needs. In this case, change only means that it is time for more change.

As much as change means you are busy, it is also a really important time to step away from the business and make sure you are not getting buried in the rigors of daily business operations. Spend time outside the business visiting with customers, networking with your peers, and staying connected with your community. Don’t get lost in all the details that pile up on your desk. You need the big picture perspective to effectively manage change.

All this stress will invite everyone in your business to ask that critical question, “why are we doing this?” Crafting a vision for what you want the company to do is the most important element to navigating times of great change. Decide what you want the business to be and what role you want it to play. Make it bold and inspirational. Back in 1980, when computers were expensive toys for geeks, Bill Gates created a vision for Microsoft: “A computer on every desk and in every home.” At the time that seemed audacious, but it kept his team focused on creating software for practical home and office use, and it worked. A vision for where you want the company to go will help make the long work hours seem worthwhile and it will help keep your team moving forward though all the changes to come.