It is vexing, despite the fact that change constantly takes place it can still throw us off-kilter. It seems particularly evident now with constant changes in the economy, with prices, at our jobs… Not to mention a major shift in our government. Most business books that refer to change management teach you how to bring about change, not how to cope with change put upon you. So what can we do to not let change get the best of us?
Change: The Facts
NEVER: Change is never going to stop. In fact, they say the only constant in life is change. We need to get used to it, adapt, and learn to leverage it.
SOMETIMES: While you can’t always control change, you can often affect the outcome. By anticipating change, you can ride the wave versus letting it knock you over. And when it does, I recommend following the advice from new US President Obama…
ALWAYS: You are always in control of how you act and react to the outcome of change. In fact, the only thing in life you can truly control is you. The philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre offered this advice…
with what’s been done to you.”
Therefore…
- Anticipate change. Look for signs and trends indicating change may be on the way so you can be better prepared when it arrives. Books, blogs, and business articles help.
- Learn to see the upside of change, and make it work in your favor. Being the first manager or company to implement a new customer service philosophy will give you an advantage.
- Know the difference between things you can affect and the change that you have no control over.
You’ve probably heard the phrase…
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.”
- Sometimes change simply requires understanding “It is what it is,” and moving on. Acceptance and understanding can take you further than waiting for things to change back.
And finally… Don’t forget the way “it was.” While change keeps ticking, what’s old often becomes “new” again.
As a professional, how do you cope with the need to change? Changes to the role of marketing? Changes to customer needs? Changes in technology? Changes in the way customers get information? Changes in the demand for your products or services? How have you learned to evolve to avoid becoming extinct?
Paul, a timely topic.
Change happens. I find that one of the most difficult things is to act on “change”. Meaning that when change happens, it’s all to easy to ignore the warning signs, or believe things will bounce back to normal (whatever “normal” really is). It’s also often difficult to assess “change”, but I like your ideas of reading posts, books etc…
So assessing change is tough, then one has to chart a course of action to navigate the change.
For me, the really hard part comes next, pulling the trigger or executing based on how you’re reading the tea leaves–when things are a bit chaotic and fluid.
Thanks for a thought provoking Friday post.
I think that accepting change as part of life is key and to remain calm. No sudden moves. While I do not normally post self-referencing links here, I think the blog post below is relevant to this discussion:
“What Scuba Diving Taught Me About Life and Business”
http://blog.streamsend.com/2009/01/what-scuba-diving-taught-me-about-life.html
Given that President Obama’s new administration is indeed a change for the U.S., this article is a great reminder that “change” is always with us. It is a lie we tell ourselves when we act surprised that things change. I’m no expert on such things, but I’m wondering if the problems faced by the “big 3″ auto makers has come about because as businesses “they” forgot that change is part and parcel of life and living…and commerce.
This is an interesting topic Paul, and definitely one that marketers deal with everyday.
It’s important to remember employees think about their jobs differently than the corporate executives at a company. Employees constantly identify how they are perceived by the company’s attitude and actions toward them.
To that end, from the executive’s perspective an often overlooked opportunity is getting people involved in the process from the beginning. This fundamental change management tactic provides employees with a chance to have their say and it’s too often disregarded (mostly due to time). It also presents employees with enough information to understand what’s at stake and rationalize the decision once it has been made.
I think there are several ancillary benefits that getting people involved in the process from the beginning can have on a company as well. Morale, motivation, and a general feeling of ‘we-ness’ emerges to transcend individual differences and motives which can all help facilitate change and benefit an organization over the long-term.
Colin Hatch
Change is inevitable, but not all change is good in all cases, and change that disrupts an industry disrupts the lives of many people. Newspapers are in the midst of serious challenges that are changing almost all aspects of the business, so as an editor I am seeing the stress of change first-hand.
People often envision their lives and careers and make plans based on their expectations. Many anticipate change or welcome change, only to have changes at their employers or in their industries push them into unemployment.
When I read about the Luddites or the demise of the buggy whip business, I saw change as a part of history. What I didn’t understand is that we don’t have good ways of managing change that also manage to help people whose skills and experience become worthless in the process of change.
There is often an imputation of inadequacy toward these discarded workers, rather than an imputation of luck in the success of those riding the wave of change.
I think the increasing pace of change is hard on human beings, and I think we need to pay much more attention to managing change in ways that help people who might be left behind by change, including the poor who can’t afford to purchase new technology to keep up with change and the elderly, some of whom struggle with technological change. In addition, longer lifespans make it imperative we help dislocated people survive change.
Companies also need to take a more thorough look at the long-term effects of change.
For instance, many companies have begun using “automated attendant” telephone answering systems, and have laid off workers who used to answer the phones. But as far as I can tell, most automated answering systems alienate customers. Have any companies compared the cost of the automated phone system to the cost of offended customers, rather than the cost of the laid-off workers?
I recommend that executives broaden the factors they consider when promoting change.