Last week I started to talk about change and its place in business. I gave you examples of the companies which didn’t handle change so well. If you missed the article, click here to access the information and catch up.
As John Maxwell once said it: “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” In other words, change will happen whether you want it or not. Growth needs help. Following are couple tips to help you get this process started, show you how to innovate and move your business or organization forward in the right direction.
1. Notice the problems or trends
It’s imperative that you know what your customers are thinking, what’s missing in their lives or businesses, what struggles they’re going through and start thinking about solutions and possible improvements. Once you start focusing on helping your target audience and enriching their lives, making sure you bring the best to them and explain the trends, keeping them away from making unnecessary mistakes, your business will grow stronger than ever.
2. Understand the impact
Bringing change into your business, systems, product line, etc. will impact your business, your team, your clients and more. You need to understand what exactly will be impacted before you say your final ‘Yes’. Map out what can possibly go wrong and try to come up with solutions before situations surface. It’s a proven fact that prevention is easier and cheaper than treatment.
3. Provide necessary training
New things require new thinking and most likely new skills. Get the training and support necessary, train your team and prepare your customer base to minimize the negative impact and miscommunication. Get your people on board, answer their questions, help them understand why you decided for innovation or new direction. This step can be extremely valuable, especially if you work with a larger team.
Expecting different results without changing the input is sign of insanity. You know better! Click To Tweet4. Be proactive
Don’t just wait for growth to happen. Make it happen. What can you do NOW to move ahead? Soon you might be trying to catch up your competitors instead of doing things you love. Early adopters might miss a lot, but they’re also the ones who hit big. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, we all do them no matter how well prepared we are. Get the process started and learn as you go.
5. Start with the end in mind.
Understanding why you’re initiating change will help your team as well as audience to stick to a plan and embrace the change. Whether you’re looking to improve your systems, simplify the processes, enhance the performance, leverage your resources or maximize your profits, implementing the change will become much easier if you understand that change isn’t a destination, but the means to destination. Paint the picture of the end result in the minds of your team and target audience and they will help you make it happen.
Vision keeps individuals and teams focused and helps remove distractions. Click To TweetWhat can you do today to improve your business? Is there anything you can (and need to) do to get ahead of your competition? Who can help you get things rolling? These are the questions you need to ask yourself, your team, most likely even your audience.
Question: What strategy works best for you or your business when it comes down to implementing change?
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