The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is known for his insistence that change is the fundamental element of the universe. You may be familiar with his quote, "The only thing that is constant is change." For many, change incites a sense of unease at best and at worst, a great fear. In business, however, the ability to change is the mainspring to success. Tradition certainly has its place in establishing quality and integrity within your business operations, but it is change that can propel you to new heights.
Agility positions your company to seize opportunities when and where they are presented. It challenges you to be attentive to shifts within your own organization, customer behaviors, staff morale, and industry trends. If you find that much of your operation is running on autopilot—this is just the way it's always been done mentality—but your sales are stagnant or dropping, it is time for a little shake-up.
In this blog, we are going to look at the critical steps to take before you even begin to make any changes. These preparatory steps will require some introspection, data collection and analysis, and brutal honesty. The "assessments" will provide you and your team with the information needed to make smart, thoughtful change based on solid information and help you gain agility to face the challenge of inevitable change.
Do You Hear Your Customers?
We all start our business with a vision. Whether we write it down or not, that vision is what drives us forward, influences our decisions, and shapes our company's future. So we need to start with that vision and ensure that it matches the direction of our customers. Take some time to answer the following questions (*Virtual Advisor, 2018) thoughtfully. You might also want to have important team members answer these as well so that you can get a more comprehensive view of where your company is and what direction it might need to go.