The ‘change’ is the way to survive or grow is infectious with the professionals across almost all disciplines. For most failures lack of change or no change is blamed which has become more like a fashion. Is change inherently good or bad? Problems are created by the speed at which it occurs and the threat it poses to those being asked to change.
Change is inevitable, but are we always forced to change because we live in a highly-connected, fast-paced global environment? I think change for the sake of change and the fact that everyone else is changing has nothing to do with true innovation and fostering creativity or acquiring new knowledge and learning the necessary new skills to stay competitive. For big or small businesses any change in brand identity such as image, logo, slogan, has an impact on the brand image and how the customers perceive the products or services. In most cases, loyal brand lovers resist change so before implementing any change, you need to ask: What additional value do I bring to my customers and key other stakeholders? Some people thrive on change; others will do all they can to resist it. But are those who advocate that change is a good thing, always right?
Change is not always a good thing. It may force us out of tired habits and impose better ones upon us, but it can also be stressful, costly and even destructive and at times change brings about disaster as well. What’s important about change is how we anticipate it and react to it. Change can teach us to adapt and help us develop resilience, but only if we understand our own capacity for growth and learning. When change makes us better, it’s because we have learned how to turn a challenging situation to our own advantage, not merely because change happens.
Change is good at certain times and it must be done. The status quo can be so much more comfortable, but to succeed in business, you must run towards it. This is the fastest-changing communications and technology landscape we’ve ever been in. Twenty five years ago, you probably didn’t have an email address, and now it’s hard to imagine life without email. Responding to technological change is a given but how about other types of changes where you have a choice to make? Know the business case for change
There are many adverse changes that happen around the world affecting day to day lives of people. Any change humans make should be for progress. What to change? When to change, how to change and why change, are critical questions needing very careful analysis. In most cases it’s not a question of changing external factors but a self-change for desired results to make the maximum out of what you got and what you do. Change can be complex, expensive, frustrating and more importantly aimless. Why fix what isn’t “broken?” Too much change at one time is like tossing a frog into boiling water. While change is a must under the right and relevant circumstances, change is not the solution to every problem, contrary to the common belief. One thing that guarantees results though is constant improvement, innovation and creativity in my view and that can be incremental or unique – change in that context is progressive for sure.
If change is one of the few certainties in life, why is it so often confused with ‘improvement’? bmd