The market, your competitors, technology and customers’ tastes, needs and expectations are always changing. If you don’t change, you’ll get left behind. Change is painful, almost unbearably so, but it’s a vital element in bypassing the status quo, keeping a company current and breaking into higher profits.
Promotional Consultant Today shares these five tips for driving change and maintaining your competitive edge.
1. Start at the top. If you are leading an organization or department, begin by determining who’s willing to get on board and who will continue to use the obsolete practices that could lead the company into a downward spiral. To motivate the rest of the company to change, you must get rid of those who won’t get on board.
2. Take your message to the masses. Company employees need to hear your vision for change; you cannot rely on others to accomplish this task because you will be very disappointed by the outcome. Many team members may have been itching for change, and are frustrated and disgusted by the absurd actions those in command. Your message will resonate with them and be embraced.
3. Cut out the nonsense. Get rid of time-wasting meetings that exist solely to air grievances. These are just used for political positioning within the company—nothing gets done, and there’s no objective. When you cut out these nonsensical areas and the panderers creating them, the message will be clear that change is happening.
4. Paint a vivid, realistic picture of what will happen if change is not made. A clear depiction is needed for true change to be seen as necessary and for it to be accepted. This must be tirelessly reiterated. Everyone needs constant reminders that companies can and do become extinct every day. Make your team realize that the pain of not changing will be much worse than making the changes necessary to be competitive in today’s market.
5. Provide incentives for those who embrace the changes and provide ample incentives to keep them on board. These don’t always need to be monetary; they can even be congratulatory symbols to show you notice their hard work. By inspiring people with your changes, they’ll have something to believe in, provoking them to champion your cause.
Change is the basic element needed to take a company into double-digit profits. By incorporating these five components, you will decisively lead your company into a profitable future.
Source: Steve Blue is president and CEO of Miller Ingenuity, a global supplier of safety-critical solutions for the transportation industry. He blended multiple technologies to transform the 60-year-old manufacturing company into a highly innovative global powerhouse. An author and speaker, Blue is a nationally recognized expert on leading change and showing companies how to double and even quadruple growth.
