I recently read a quote – The 6 most expensive words in business are: “We have always done it that way.”
How many businesses keep doing what they have always done – doing the things that they are comfortable with, and in turn their business sails along. How long can you sail in business without changing the way you do things.
Each week we come across businesses that want help in simplifying internal processes, streamlining their business model or identifying gaps in their systems. However it is shortly after they know change is a good idea they start to shudder at the thought of how this translates… they then say – but…. We have always done it this way!!
These words are used when they aren’t confident, scared of the outcome and worried about what change brings. They might find themselves open to criticism when debriefing their current process or frightened by the transparency that change can bring.
When embarking on the new it is important to remember some of the following:-
A little pain in the short term reaps rewards. Change isn’t something that happens overnight, it can be painful, testing and downright exhausting. As they say short-term pain – long term gain.
Go outside your comfort zone. Being comfortable can be nice but really ask yourself “is the business progressing or are we just sailing nicely. Do I want to increase cash flow, productivity or even monitor our inventory better?” There are many ways we can always look at improving our business even if we think we are doing ok.
Keep an open mind. It is easy to get overwhelmed by implementing something new. The first few steps are not easy. Try and continue with the open mind you started with. Otherwise you will be derailed early in the process.
Trust the outcome. Trust that it will all work out. No change is ever easy it can take 2 – 3 months and for some businesses up to 6 months to really embrace the change and see the positive outcome it has made.
Communication. Communicate effectively with your team what this change will bring. You want them along for the ride as well as for them to drive it home through implementing the new systems and processes you have created.
You have the power to make change - to make it work or not. To move your business to the next level all with trying something new.