We live in a world that is consistently evolving and changing.  Technology advances at a faster and faster rate.  The local, national and international economy is always adapting to political issues, supply chain challenges, age demographics and a host of other factors. Consumer demands and buying habits, green/low carbon/plastic free/global warming agendas, are all being challenged and updated on a regular basis.  Even knowing the right language to describe any minority group, can be a minefield to navigate, and people are often held to today’s standards for historic behaviours.

Change is relentless, accelerating and confusing.  No wonder people seek to avoid it wherever possible!

But it is inevitable, and therefore the choice to embrace it or resist it, is in reality a choice not to stand still or move forward, but to go backwards or to go forwards.  Which isn’t really a choice at all.  Right now we have probably seen more change in the last two years or so than we saw in the previous decade, and many of us are still coming to terms with the impact of those changes.

Charles Darwin is often misquoted as having talked about the ‘survival of the fittest’. Natural selection.  What he actually said was that it is NOT the strongest or the fastest species that survive, it is those that are most adaptable to change.  And for many of us it is the FEAR of change that stops us adapting.

 

There was some interesting research into how people react to fear.  It was a very long report so we will cut to the key bits…

  • The greatest fear is when we do not know what something will be like. Sitting in the rollercoaster seat waiting for the green light is the scariest moment, because we don’t know all the twists and turns ahead of us.
  • Once we are committed, the rollercoaster is moving, our fear changes to a form of excitement. We cannot now opt out, so we may as well enjoy the ride.
  • At the end, there is a euphoria. We didn’t die.  It was fun.  There wasn’t really anything to be frightened of.  So many run straight round to re-join the queue

 

Many changes in business can create the same feelings of fear.  Will the new product work?  Will the potential customer argue about the price increase?  Will the bank support my overdraft request?

The easiest way to avoid these fears is to avoid change.  Don’t get on the rollercoaster, don’t increase the price and leave the overdraft request until the last minute in the hope you won’t need it.

The best way however, is to recognise the fears and be prepared.  Here are some techniques you could use to minimise fear and ensure you embrace change…

  • Ask yourself, are your feelings rational, objective and true to the facts? See if you can identify when you are letting emotions overtake good practice.
  • Ask others for their opinions. Road test new products with a few trusted customers and get honest feedback.  They may say “it is rubbish”, in which case you are embarrassed in front of a handful of customers and not the whole market.  They may give great feedback on improvements you could make.  They may say “it’s brilliant, when can I have it?”.

 

If you want to increase prices, run through your pitch with a colleague and ask them how they might react, and be ready to answer those questions.

Be prepared

  • If you are going to the bank to ask for money, have up to date information, have a cash flow to show what you need and when.  Be ready to answer the ‘why do you need it?’ question.  Don’t just turn up and hope for the best.  If you are pitching for a new customer, have a good agenda to work to so you cover all the key points.  Have professional documents to show and leave behind.  Practice, practice, practice.

 

Try and quantify the benefits of the change

  • If you are planning to implement a whole new set of systems, and are scared of the backlash from employees saying “but we have always done it this way…”, try and estimate the hours of time the new software might save, or the reduction in mistakes and returns, or the any of the other benefits it might bring.  When we looked at being a paperless office, some expressed their desire to hold files and share documents in a hard copy rather than on tablets or laptops.  So we costed how much we spent on printers, paper, ink, and the cost of confidentially destroying 1st, 2nd or 7th ! drafts of documents.  It was staggering sum!.

 

Consider the alternative

  • If we don’t change, how quickly to we become the ‘old firm’, with ‘old fashioned practices’, that customers and employees don’t really want to deal with?  How quickly will others be able to do what we do, better and cheaper than us?

 

The reality is that we are likely to see even more change in the next few years as the economic impact of covid, war in Ukraine and some more domestic issues start to take effect.  Whilst covid forced us to do business via Zoom, fuel costs, and time pressures may mean we need to continue with that approach.  The payback period for some green energy options (solar panels etc) may have put some people off investing, but rising energy costs (and uncertainty over energy supplies) will change that dynamic.

So change is here, more change is coming, and it will not stop.

So we all need to learn to accept that change is a natural part of our lives both in and outside of the workplace. Remind yourself that change brings opportunity and excitement, not just fear.

If you really do have a fear of change, then you need to keep focussed on the reality that change is inevitable.  Would you rather be making changes you have decided on, and in a way that you think works for you?  Or be dragged along with changes determined by others over which you have little control.

REFLECT, ADAPT AND CHANGE – we promise it’ll be worth it in the long run