Paralyzed by Change?

Knowing Where Your Organization Needs to Change

is the First Step Toward Sustainable Growth

by Marcia Fortley, Marketing Manager. 
Email comments to mfortley@theandersongrp.com.

Your gut is telling you something needs to change in your organization. It's true, your business has stabilized, but not without cutbacks, which may have created internal unrest. So, even though you survived the past few years, the truth is, you are still not back to where you once were, and you certainly are not growing and flourishing.

But, what if you do make changes and they don't work? What if your instincts were incorrect or you chose the wrong path to change? Change is hard enough to implement and it can get really sticky if you uproot the status quo and the results are bad. Or worse, nothing changes.

The risks in making changes in an organization are great. As a leader, you need to consider all the consequences, but you also know you cannot stand still. So, by just acknowledging change is needed, you've already taken the most important first step.

Evaluating Change
There are five areas you can review to evaluate what might be at the root of your company's issues. It's important to discover the cause of your pain, not simply treat the symptoms. However, reviewing the symptoms will help you identify the main area or areas where you have challenges. Remember, resist the urge to make quick fixes—it will take time and effort to implement changes that will permanently and positively affect the health of your organization, but the results will be worth it.

       Strategic Symptoms:

• Have your sales declined or flat-lined?
• Have you lost market share?
• Are you getting inconsistent or no results from your new business development efforts?
• Are other new initiatives within the company falling short of expectations?

       Brand Marketing & Communication Symptoms:

• Have you lost your connection with your customers and can no longer find them or reach them effectively?
• Are all your marketing efforts pushing your message out and just talking about your company?
• Have you put off engaging your customers in a conversation through social media?
• Do your marketing materials look mismatched and lack continuity in messaging? Does your competition look better?
• Are your short-term and long-term marketing goals planned out?

       Culture/Personnel Symptoms:

• Is your turnover higher than 6% a year?
• Has your employee confidence in leadership dwindled?
• Is your managerial team constantly "fighting fires" instead of focusing on developing or growing the business?
• Does your company lack effective delegation and effective decision making?
• Is your internal communication sporadic, inconsistent or non-existent?
• Is your company stuck in a rut, doing the same thing over and over and getting the same ineffective response?
• Is your company's sense of creativity and fun gone or stifled?

       Operational Symptoms:

• Is your equipment outdated or are failures threatening productivity?
• Are your human resources and capacity poorly managed?
• Are you behind in technical upgrades?
• Are your products or services outdated and no longer valued?

       Financial Symptoms:

• Do you have reductions in working capital and cash flow?
• Do you have declining revenues and profit margins?
• Are your expenses increasing without explanation?
• Are your account receivable turnovers slower than normal?

Don't Fizzle Out
Even in the best of circumstances, change is difficult. You want to give your company a chance to effectively make changes and not inadvertently sabotage your efforts. Understanding the process of change can help you identify where your company is at and where you need to start. Remember, there are no quick fixes. While the temptation to implement quickly to try to get results is hard to resist, you will be best served by making sure you properly introduce new changes to your company and that these changes are part of the company's overall vision and strategy.  

There are actually five stages of change according to the TTM (Transtheoretical Model) developed by James O. Prochaska of the University of Rhode Island in the late 70s.

Stage 1 — Precontemplation — This is the "ignorance is bliss" stage where a company is not currently considering change as a solution. It is not yet aware it even has a problem.

Stage 2 — Contemplation — This is the "sitting on a fence" stage where a company is still ambivalent about change. It is aware it has a problem and knows it needs to consider solving it but is still not finished weighing the pros and cons of actually modifying its behavior.

Stage 3 — Preparation/Determination — This is the stage where a company has made a commitment to change but is still unsure what needs to change or how to change. This is the research phase and the company is trying to take small steps toward figuring out how to make the change properly. This is the most important step in the change process. Too often companies skip right to Stage 4 and fail to adequately research, prepare and accept what it is going to take to really make a permanent change within the organization.

Stage 4 — Action/Willpower — This is the stage where a company believes it has the ability to change its behavior and is actively involved in taking the steps toward change. The amount of time it takes an organization to change will vary—it can take six months or one hour! The company is banking on its will to succeed, but it is at the greatest risk for relapsing into old behaviors.

Stage 5 — Maintenance — This is the stage where companies need to maintain their success and avoid the temptation to return to its old and ineffective ways. The goal in this stage is to maintain the new normal and have it be the new status quo. The company needs to be aware of what might bring on a relapse and have strategies in place in advance to prevent them.

Of course, there is always the chance to relapse back into old behaviors. However, it is normal and natural to regress. Change is not easy and there will be growing pains. But, a relapse does not mean failure. If this happens to your company, you should take the time to understand the trigger for the relapse and reassess the level of commitment within your organization and address any new or existing barriers.