15 / 204
15
over-communication, in multiple medi-
as - video, voice, documents, and ac-
tions.
Don’t assume a simple press release
will be enough.
5. The fastest way to
change a business is to
bring in new blood
Most successful business owners
have learned that you usually need to
seed change and realignment with new
people. Even with good people, there
is an existing team member confirma-
tion bias that works against change.
You always need to look for new skills
and experience.
6. Plan to replace some
tools and processes
It’s a bad strategy to assume that all
existing processes and systems must
be updated, rather than replaced to
accommodate a market change.
In reality, the costs in maintenance
and usability are very high to do things
the old way as well as the new. Always
evaluate new tools and new systems.
7. Pick metrics to measure
change implementation
and results
Plan ahead to measure the results you
expect from the realignment, as well as
the extent of the change process.
You will always hear the negatives
and problems during a change, which
can easily hide any positive results,
or how near you are to success in the
process.
Even with all the right planning and
flexible systems, it takes the right peo-
ple to make change happen - starting
at the top.
Consider what Steve Jobs had to
do to change Apple from a computer
company to consumer electronics, or
how Howard Schultz changed all the
rules of selling coffee with Starbucks.
Every aspect of these business had to
be realigned.
As much as change is good for new
businesses, it is absolutely required
for the long-term survival of existing
businesses.
Witness what resistance to change
did for Blockbuster Video and Kodak.
Also, real change takes more than the
one person at the top - it takes the en-
gagement of all team members inter-
nally, as well as external constituents.
Are all your stars aligned for change?
The opinions expressed here by Inc.
com columnists are their own, not
those of
Inc.com. PUBLISHED ON:
JAN 24, 2017