Accepting change as a key to business growth

One of the biggest barriers to growing a business is the ability to accept and manage change.

We are creatures of habit, and feel safest in our comfort zones.  Change can be scary, both for the business owner and their staff.  It can be the fear of the unknown, and / or the fear of failure.

In order for a business to grow, change is inevitable.  For example, a change of people, change of roles, change of systems and processes, sometimes a change of location.

A well-documented formula was developed by David Gleicher in 1992 to determine the likely success or failure of organisational change:

d x v x f > r

d = you have a dissatisfaction of how things are now

This is often the easiest part to describe, but take time to write down what is it that is causing the dissatisfaction.  Working too many hours might be the symptom, but the cause might be not having enough staff or having staff that need to be given more training, or having manual systems and processes that take up too much time.  Poor cashflow might be a symptom of not enough sales, incorrect pricing or high expenses.

v = a vision of what is possible

If you were able to solve the causes of the dissatisfaction, what would your business look like?  How would you describe your dream business environment?  Think about customers, products/services, people, systems and processes, your role in the business, and what you want your sales and profit to be.

f = the first steps towards your vision

Your vision should look 3-5 years in the future.  That future state may seem an impossible dream, but you can’t climb a mountain without taking the first step.  Work out where you are going to start.  It doesn’t have to be a big step, but understanding how that first step will get you closer to your vision is key.

If you remember your high school maths, you will understand that in a multiplication formula, if any of the components are zero, then the who answer is zero, so all three components must be there.

r = resistance to change

The result of d x v x f must be greater than the resistance to change.  That resistance can come from either the business owner, or any one of the team.  Bringing the team along the change journey with you is critical.  Understand what is stopping you from making the change.  If it is fear, what are you afraid of?  What can be done to reduce or eliminate that fear?  For a staff member the fear could be that they will either be out of a job, or their job will change significantly.  Understanding the change, what it means for them personally, giving them training, describing the change process and including them in the vision will go a long way to reducing that fear.

For a business owner it may be fear of failure.  Consider the possible outcomes of the change.  What will happen if the change gets the result we were looking for.  What will happen if it goes wrong?  What will happen if we do nothing? 

Change is necessary for growth.  By understanding the change better using this formula, the chances of a successful change are improved.  Take the time to work through the change process, and bring your team along for the ride.

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Ann Gibbard - Oxygen8 Consulting

ann@oxygen8.co.nz, 021 682 014