Increase your people's engagement with change

When we engage in the change process we often neglect to consider the various levels of change readiness of our teams. Some team members with be enthusiastic and embrace the change process willingly and eagerly. These guys sometimes called early adopters are a breeze for change managers to deal with. However not everyone will embrace the change with such enthusiasm.
Some team members will prefer the status quo as it appears to make their life easier than having to change something in the way they work. These guys will not be openly seeking to disrupt the change they will just seem to drag the chain and take their time. The will frustrate the manager and possibly the process but with support they will come on side and work with the process. The guys your will need to watch are the group who actively dislike change and will do anything to railroad the process.
It may be comforting to know that the information about which category your people occupy can de uncovered prior to the start of the change process. having the knowledge of which folks are which will allow you to assign tasks within the process and to work with those who are reluctant about the change process. The reluctant folk will have reasons for their concerns which can often be reduced through discussion and communication about the effects and benefits of the process. When communications fail other steps may be necessary but often good solid communication around the rationale for the change and the benefits of it will alley the concerns of most reasonable folk.
Some straightforward behavioural profiling, communications and ongoing information generation upfront can help generate a much smoother change implemention process.

Managing Change needs Management of Risk

Any change carries with it an element of risk. Will our people at all levels come with us on the journey? Will the numbers really happen as budgetted? Will the new concept or product be as exciting to the market as it is to us? and so on
All change requires a risk analysis and when your change concerns something radically new where ideas are paramount it becomes even more essential that you have an open mind to all ideas however radical they may at first appear. There is a caution here though.
I managed a change process where the manager had followed this idea and had lots of great new product concepts. In his enthusiasm he forgot to take the second step of evaluating the viability or marketability of the ideas. Some succeeded but sadly more flopped leaving a warehouse full of unsaleable items.
Great ideas come from taking a risk but successful great ideas come from evaluating the great ideas before putting them to market. Really go for it because real change comes from fresh sometimes radical ideas not from trimming the edges.

When did you review your Marketing Spend?

When talking about change we often restrict our discussion to the financials or to the people. Don't get me wrong, both are essential aspects of change management but so is keeping up with what is happening in the marketplace.
What are consumers doing or watching and where are they getting their information from?
When considering your marketing spend you may find it wise to change your view from totally focussing on traditional marketing and promotion techniques and consider the value of Social Media Marketing in the mix.
There are plenty of front end benefits like the low cost and broad distribution. Many might argue then it is probably worth what paid for but consider the valuable informtion gathering you can be doing for your business. Adopting early and testing the available options might just help improve the overall value of a reduced marketing spend and position you well when the New Media becomes the Established Media.
Have fun with it enjoy the learning and keep a record of the results for tracking over time.

Always be alert to change

We are mostly shy of change but the real future is being alert for the opportunities that a change may present to your business. Become a watcher of the political climate and machinations and very aware of policy discussions, it is here that the opportunities for positive change in busienss are often presented. keep a weather eye on competitors, supliers and client to be sure they are not introducing changes that will rock your business.
If your business operates in international markets keep an eye on the countries economic performance so you will be better prepared for events as they unfold. This applies equally to new opportunities as it does to changes that may negatively impact your business. Stay as friendly as possible with competitors as you may be good sources of information for each other on international markets.
Stay alert, stay alive and have your business continue to thrive.

Learn to Love Change

If you are creating a culture where change is the big boggy you are creating a whole lot of resistence to change. Many people are afraid of change because they are afraid of what the change will mean for their jobs and their furure ability to support themselves and their families. It is this fear which brings about the restistence.
It will serve you, your people and your organisation a great deal more if you create a culture where change is good. A culture which embraces change because change is happening around you every day and to resist it will only leave you behind in the race against your competitors. Your business will be left behind in a pool of obsolete business practices and products or services.
A culture of 'change is good' will help your people feel less threatened by the constant changes that surround business today. They will be able to embrace the change initiative and work positively to implement it. You may find, with time, your people will even instigate changes that will improve your business. With a culture of 'change is good' your business will be less disrupted by change and more efficient through all times.

Communicate the Change

Whatever change process you are implementing you will need to communicate with your people what the change involves and why it is important to them and the business. What the change will achieve for the business and what it will mean to their work situation. You must:

1. Be totally honest in your communications. Do not try and bluff or try to make the situation better than it is because the people who work there know the real situation. Tell them honestly what the change means to their future
2. Develop Trust: Be Consistent and use consistent measures in your communications Even if there is a slight dip in progress continue to use the same measures as this will retain and build your credability and help develop Trust. The more Trust you can build the more straightforward the change implementation will be.
3. Love what you are doing. If you don't you will not build trust and it will be very difficult to implement the change process. Let the people know you love the change process, why and smile your way through the highs and lows.

Change is usually done for the good of the organisation and those who work for it and given your change meets this criteria you should be able to successfully commission and implement a change process.

5's start the dancing

You may be thinking but no one else is doing it so perhaps I should wait. Only if you want to line up behind those who beat you to the punch. There is a beautiful analogy of going to a dance and thinking about whou you will invite.
Imagine that the population under consideration is in groups numbered 1 - 5 and they all fit under a bell shaped curve; ie normally distrubted. The 1's and 2's are outliers on one end and the 4's and 5's are outliers on the other end with the 3s making up the bulk of the population under the bell part of the curve. You won't invite the 1's and 2's because they will either be disruptive or so withdrawn they will contribute nothing. You will invite the 3's because they will eventually dance and create a good party. You will also invite the 4's because they will at least tap their feet to the music when it starts. However you must invite the 5's because although they are kind of 'out there' and 'risky' they will get up and dance as soon as the music starts to play.
You see you need them to get the party started and business needs them too to get the next phase launched before the competitiors beat you too the punch. If you are not a 5 and you don't have any 5's on the leadership team now might be the time to find one and position your business for the good times ahead.