It’s no secret that change is a constant in life. The speed and scale of changes in the past year have been unprecedented (it seems like I say that every year for the past five years).
I recently came across a fascinating article discussing how superior business performance is driven by adaptable systems, empowered employees, and a culture open to change. Additionally, the capacity to promptly respond to emerging trends, threats, and opportunities has become the most crucial factor for success.
That’s why I decided to use this executive leadership round-up post to bring together the collective wisdom of various business leaders, experts, and professionals on change management and change resistance. By sharing their insights and posing three crucial questions, I aim to create a community of learning to help you navigate change.
Iris Goldfeder, the CEO of GasStoveCreative, believes that businesses must embrace change to stay relevant in the future. Dealing with rapid change is challenging, but we can learn from each other as we navigate this journey.
Judson Rollins, the Scale Whisperer, sees rapid change not just as a challenge, but as a golden opportunity to seek new avenues and rise to the occasion.
Despite the hurdles, it’s crucial to shift our perspective and recognize the immense potential for growth and success that rapid change can bring.
This optimism can fuel our resilience in the face of change.
Nina Froriep, a Content Creator and Visual Storyteller at Clock Wise Productions, finds it helpful to focus on the constant structures in her business when things get chaotic.
Bernadett Papp, a Retirement Income Strategist, acknowledges that change can be intimidating, particularly in large organizations. It can be overwhelming to achieve adoption without a clear strategy, but it’s this very strategy that will guide us towards a future where companies can adapt quickly and effectively.
JJ Parker, CEO of Tightrope Media, said that a lot of the changes we do in business is a lot of tweaking on processes. But, it’s important to recognize when you’re changing a mindset, and sometimes that’s hard to do because we’re all like in the weeds all the time. One other thing that JJ emphasizes is to be able to zoom out on our businesses to see them more holistically, so we can work on it and not in it.
We all approach adapting to change differently; sometimes, our methods work, and sometimes they don’t. So, how can we maintain a growth mindset when facing rapid change?
This mindset, rooted in adaptability and learning, can empower us to navigate change effectively.
Here are three significant questions to navigate change:
- How can my businesses cope with such rapid change?
- How can it remain competitive in an ever-evolving market?
- How can I use change to break through a business plateau?
Oftentimes I go back to what Kris Ward, author of “Win the Hour. Win the Day” said to me in one of our conversations: “The three main areas that most businesses suffer from are damaging overhead, delayed income, and diminished opportunity. And those things come from not having an effective team.” You can listen to the whole episode about the Productive Leadership for Growth Oriented Businesses.
The bottom line is that whatever we do, as entrepreneurs and business owners, we AND our team(s) must adapt to constant change to remain competitive while staying true to our vision.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it, saying it’s an easy process, but it’s a path we must take because it’s in our nature to move forward.
*******************
Join the conversation on either topic by clicking on the links to the original post here.
Share your thoughts and ideas – I’m excited to hear from you!
*******************
Jess Dewell is a professional who has been navigating the intersection of operations and strategy for more than twenty years. She helps organizations move forward by identifying the sweet spot where strategy catalyzes operations, fosters innovation, and drives businesses to the forefront of their industries.
Jess is committed to helping businesses turn challenges into scalable opportunities and constraints into springboards for growth. Contact her for a complimentary call, or find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Check out her Driving Solutions Strategic Intensive program if you need help with strategic growth challenges.