MANAGEMENT
C
hange: It’s one thing that’s inevitable and even if you’ve done everything you need to do
constant in life. Change in a small business to set the stage for changing a particular pro-
starts with the owner, who must define why cess, product, or service, there are still a num-
change is necessary, formulate the change, im- ber of hazards that could upend your best-laid
plement the change, and review the results. plans.
Most people resist change, and it’s because
of this that it’s vital you—the business own- Know the Obstacles and Plan to Avoid Them
er—possess strong change management skills 1. Stutter steps: Major change makes people
if you want your plan to be a success. Making nervous, so their natural inclination is to reject
change and managing change are two very change or, at the very least, move sluggishly
different things. in its direction when prodded. Although you
Primarily, you need strong leadership and can use techniques to smooth the transition
sales abilities, in order to get people to believe process, you’ll never be able to completely
in you and your vision in promoting your case jump from one way of doing things to anoth-
for change. You also need effective communica- er without experiencing at least some resis-
tion skills to help build consensus around your tance. Human nature dictates that people ad-
decision to change. just to change at different rates. Nevertheless,
However, a half-hearted pace can thwart success.
How to avoid this pitfall:
• Set a date by which the group, as
a whole, makes a thoughtful de-
cision about whether it’s time to
move forward to the next step in
your plan. Optimally, change is
achieved on a team-wide ba-
sis.
• Familiarize yourself
with the stages people
go through psychologi-
cally when they’re deal-
ing with change. You’ll be
better able to tell if you’ve
10 ThinkBusiness
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