As a business leader one of the most challenging things that you will have to do is lead your team through change when most people would rather not change. I thought it would be a good idea to list the ten biggest drivers of change so at least you will be able to see it coming.
1. Failing your customer
One of the best ways of gauging how well a company is performing is by standing in the office where the customer calls are taken and listen how often the phone rings. Customers don’t often ring into praise you and most people place orders by email or online so those telephone calls are probably to give you a swift kick up the backside for not performing to their expectations. You need to understand the reason for the complaints and start making changes before you start losing customers, and these days with social media bad news travels fast. One of the most satisfying experiences in business is to be told that the noise of ringing phones is subsiding as you gradually resolve customer issues and implement changes to prevent it happening again.
2. Losing money
Death by losing money is like Chinese water torture—it’s an agonising and slow death; not a nice way for your business to die. The trick here is to be honest about the fact that you are losing money and start making changes immediately to plug the holes. People who think that it will fix itself are in for a hard lesson. Put the business under the microscope, slash spending, improve efficiencies do whatever it takes to get you back into profit. Many leaders don’t like to attract attention to the fact that they are losing money as they don’t want to alarm their team but if you don’t address it, they won’t thank you when it’s too late and they no longer have a job.
3. High costs
The same as losing money, admit it and start slashing costs.
4. Legislation
This reason doesn’t impact on every business but those with a direct link with the health and safety of others will experience this quite often. It’s important that you understand the legislation change and what it means to your business before you rush off and change things. The one advantage you have is that if change is driven by changes in legislation, your team will probably see straight away they have no option but to change. This makes it easier for you to implement.
5. New Technology
Introducing new machinery and software into your company will require a change of processes to cope with the challenges of new technology. New technology is normally introduced to improve performance so make sure you know what those improvements should be and that you see them begin to happen. Classic example is the introduction of an ERP system which is meant to revolutionise your business, but your team may try and use it in the manner that they have always worked so you won’t get tangible benefits. Change is vital to get the best from new technology.
6. Performance gaps.
The gap between where you are and where you want to be is where your business is failing and the area that you need to start changing. Normally impacting on quality, cost and delivery.
7. Bad Culture.
You may have a workforce that just isn’t engaged in what you want from the business and have no desire to make the effort. It’s only a matter of time before the business begins to falter and ultimately fails. Change before it’s too late.
8. New Opportunities.
New opportunities opening up in your market place, for whatever reason, may mean that you have to change quickly to capitalise on them before you competitor beats you to it.
9. New competition
New competitors moving into your market place may expose weak areas in your business and start stealing your customers. They may deliver quicker, charge less or deliver a greater quality, whatever it is you need to change quickly while you still have the option.
10. Rapid expansion
Companies that experience a sudden prolonged increase in sales can get caught out and, in their attempt to fulfil these orders, will become very disrupted which can lead to margin reduction, poor quality, missed deliveries and staff becoming demotivated which is just the start of the slippery slope into obscurity.
Some of the above reasons for needing to change are very similar and in some cases overlap but I have itemised them all as sometimes when you are stuck in these situations it’s very difficult to identify the core reason and focus on eliminating it.
The worst thing you can do is hope that it gets better because in most cases it will only get worse so accept the fact and start the change.