There Is Security in Change... But Use Caution

It has been said that the only constant is change. That statement, while true for everyone, it is especially true for those engaged in business activities.

Business is an environment based on change - competition forces change on us. Our customers and clients always want new products and services. They want those new products and services faster, cheaper, and better. If we can't provide them or won't provide them, our customers will abandon us in favor of those who will. If a business does not change to meet the changing needs of the marketplace it will not remain in business long.

Every day brings an element of change yet there are many people, including owners, managers and staff, who are resistant to change. They are uncomfortable with a feeling of being unsecured. And yet, if their business does not change or evolve to meet the challenges of the future their feeling of security will collapse as the business collapses from being passed up in the marketplace.

The road to a secure future is to embrace change-with-caution as the throbbing heartbeat of a business bent on success. A business that embraces change is tuned into the future and will find opportunities that others either don't see or will not pursue.

A business that embraces change must be devoted to life-long learning. As new technologies spring up, we need to learn how to apply them, to integrate them into our current business model and how to manage them into the model of the future. As new generations of customers come of age, we need to learn how to communicate with them and be relevant. As new competitors enter the marketplace we need to learn how to take our experience and rise above their challenge.

The company that knows how to learn and evolve is the company that is secure. The company that resists change, while it may feel secure, is going to eventually have change imposed on it by the constantly changing environment. Security is being prepared for the future. If your business is going to thrive in the future, find security in change.

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com