BUYER DECISIONS
Change
By Daisy Munee
Change is like a rest or so they say . Most times we are encouraged to change our way of doing things as individuals , as a group or as an institution . But few are the times that we are told how to undertake the change . How to make sure the change is positive , how to deal with the failure to the change we are going through .
There is no single new year that I have not heard or read of people ’ s new year resolutions . Everyone seems to want a different way of doing things year in , year out . A different way of how they want to package themselves the following year . These resolutions vary from personal resolutions like the need to grow spiritually to financial resolutions like the need to make more money .
Leo Tolstoy once said , everyone thinks of changing the world , but no one thinks of changing himself . We are all seeking to do things differently from the way they have been done over the years but are we seeking to look deeper into ourselves and see the things that we need to change within us for us to execute the change we so badly desire ? How do we all want to change the outside world without seeking to reflect on what lives within us ?
Organizations are not in any way better in wanting to execute change . Sit in any board meeting and you won ’ t fail to hear people talk about ‘ restructuring ’ which in most cases refers to changing the management of the organization . Structures are put , change processes are started but do the organizations achieve their long-term plan ?
Change is inevitable and Change is the only constant factor in any organization . Market trends are changing . Technology is advancing day in , day out . Economies of scale are diversifying . Buyers are becoming more aware . Competitors are becoming more innovative . Wars and pandemics are emerging , the government is setting new policies for businesses every single day and failure is pushing businesses to adapt to change .
In today ’ s business world , for any business to remain viable , it has to undergo a transition in one way or another . Whether it is going to change its name , review its mission , vision and objectives , onboard new employees , grow departments , merge , change leadership , among others , a business has to embrace change or exit the market .
During business reviews , it is very easy to
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We have all witnessed the failure of a business giant that resisted change . We all know of a business that is a sleeping lion due to its slowness in adopting change and we can all die on the inside if we are not willing to work on ourselves and adopt change . point fingers on what is wrong in the business environment . Very easy to blame the market dynamics . Very easy to blame the government for every single negative happening in our businesses . Very easy to blame the technology that we were not able to adapt early enough . Very easy to blame competition on every single misfortune in our businesses . Businesses are quick to say how the economies of scale are not working for them but working against them . How the changing demographics are leading to low businesses .
Do businesses take time to look within themselves and try to figure out if their management is letting them down leading to the poor performance ? How many times do businesses check on the motivation and attitude of their employees ? Do businesses take time and evaluate the culture that has been adopted ? What about systems , are they the right systems to drive the business to its success . Do businesses invest in doing the work to improve themselves or do they only see what is wrong with the external business environment surrounding them ?
Businesses are normally excited about executing a new organizational change . With the hope of becoming more profitable by leveraging on the change , businesses try to alter the operations of its systems , business structure , technologies or even culture . To achieve successful change , businesses have to prepare for the change , implement the change and actually follow through to ensure that the change is successful .
During the preparation for change , businesses have to set up teams that will be involved in driving change , and allow them to come up with their change management strategies with the end game in mind . Success is defined and people know what they want to
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