| Change
By Evan Wise, Managing Director
of Management One
In
the many years of consulting, managing and running businesses
we tend to believe that we have heard it all. I have
found that many of you may not have heard it all and
might benefit from a list of reasons why your company
should not change. Here is my list. I would be happy
to hear about any others that I haven’t heard
yet.
We’ve
never done that before.
We’ve done that and it didn’t work.
No one else is doing that.
That is what everyone else is doing.
We’ve done it this way for XX years.
It won’t work in a (small, private, specialty,
rural, urban, our etc) company.
We need more study and information.
It is too much trouble to change.
This company is different
The boss would never buy it.
The employees would never accept it.
The marketing people won’t buy it.
Sales can’t sell it.
Production can’t produce it.
Finance says it costs too much.
Customers won’t buy it.
The janitor won’t accept it.
We don’t have the personnel.
We don’t have the capacity or equipment.
We don’t have the time.
It’s not my job.
We aren’t ready for it. Wait until…
It’s impossible.
The
interesting thing about this list is there are normally
no facts, data, study or solid information to accompany
any of these responses. Any one might be true. Most
of them most likely are not based on fact but only serve
to keep the company from moving forward. People fear
change because it challenges their security in how things
are working today.
Great
businesses both large and small must change to stay
alive. Plan on it and plan for it. When a person opens
a small shop and he is doing the managing and the work
to serve the customer he is in control. The trouble
is he doesn’t have a business like he thought
but rather, he has bought himself a job. Soon, providing
the concept, product and service are valid, customers
come. More customers come. Soon he needs a helper, a
bookkeeper and an accountant. The business grows and
this owner must learn to manage and guide the business
instead of just serving customers.
This
is natural change and many small businesses fail because
they don’t plan for this change. If this natural
change doesn’t occur, the business will die. It
means more customers aren’t coming. It means that
you are the only one in the shop. It will be difficult
for you, alone, to do the job to provide enough revenue
to pay the rent, utilities, taxes, supplies, advertising
and your own salary. Sure you can struggle to make ends
meet. Some stay around longer than others. Some have
more stamina or stubbornness. The inevitable end is
burnout, sellout or bankruptcy.
The
bottom line is “grow or die”. Growth brings
change. Plan for change. Have a strategy that looks
for ways to change and to grow. Make sure that you don’t
find yourself grabbing a quick line from the list above
to send your business down the tubes.
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