I ran across a post on Facebook from a friend of mine, VJ Voelker and he was posing the question of why car dealers are looking backwards versus forwards in regards to their marketing. He was curious as to why dealers were hesitant to embrace Digital Marketing as a viable addition to their current media. Bottom line he was asking, why is it so hard to change?
It got me thinking that many of us, as individuals and as companies really do resist change. Why are you not looking down the road at where you will be going versus where you have been? I guess it is safer, you know where you have been, I understand how to look at results, it has always worked in the past, etc.
You may be finding comfort in these thoughts but the reality is that in this day and age, if you are not moving forward, you are getting left behind.
If you asked my wife if I embrace change, her first reaction is to say, “not so much”. But once she thought about it, she would say, “If he has one part of his life that he can rely on, then he can embrace change in the other areas”.
I think that is a fair assessment and I think that holds true for most companies. No one is saying you need to change everything. If you rely on what you are keeping the same and then allow yourself to adjust and embrace a new reality, then I believe the results will surprise you.
Most people have to be backed into a corner to change but let’s assume your situation is not that dire. In regards to your business, how do you embrace the “new”? How do you look down the road and embrace change?
Here are three things to ask in order to begin changing behavior:
• What is NOT changing? (This give you your anchor and comfort)
• What is the outcome you would like? (Where am I headed)
• Is what I am doing now helping me towards that outcome (constantly reviewing the path)
Pretty simple in theory and actually once you get hold of the concept, pretty easy to do.
This strategy helps you to start bringing in new processes at a pace you can handle in order to not lose ground to your competitors.
“You can’t turn an aircraft carrier quickly, but you have to make adjustments incrementally in order to get it headed in the right direction”.
Let me know your thoughts.
Glenn Pasch is the President of Improved Performance Solutions, found at http://improvedperformancesolutions.com.
Glenn is a performance consultant that specializes in helping organizations improve employee performance through executive coaching and training seminars.