With the promise of a new season upon us and the ‘changes’ that this will bring, what deviations are you going to make in your life or business?
As a rule, we don’t take too kindly to change but as Charles Darwin put it so eloquently “It is not the strongest that survive but the one most responsive to change”. As an example of this, Deloitte stated at the end of 2011 when they were appointed as being the administrators for Barratt/Priceless shoes “The reason they have failed again is that adequate changes to the operational business HAVEN’T been made”
There’s also another saying that if you stay on the same path, you will end up getting the same result, so what can you do about it?
They’re great these sayings but they don’t help us to make the necessary change whereas Richard Beckhard developed a concept called ‘The Change Equation’ which, although not a miracle cure, brings to our awareness the need for change via a simple formula that can be used to illustrate some of the important issues in making them.
As stated before, people will resist or even avoid change as it often brings an element of pain, or at least some discomfort, along with it! So Beckhard realised that some countervailing steps were necessary, hence, his equation.
A = An attractive vision of the future
B = Some dissatisfaction with the present
C = Some practical first steps
D = The pain involved in changing
The sum of A + B + C must exceed the value of D
Now look at some questions to ask yourself in each of the areas…
(A) What do I want? … What do I need to do to clarify my vision? … What is my clear and attractive vision of how the future might be for me? How can I best use the strengths I have or the gifts within?
(B) How much do I enjoy my present role/situation? … What is the basis for this dissatisfaction? … What has the greatest pull, the way things are or the way they could be if I was to step out of my comfort zone and changed things? … What would I most like to change? … If I was to change my situation/role/job, what would I leave behind and how important is that to me? … How much do I REALLY want to change?
(C) Within the near future, what are some of the things that I could change to move forward (i.e., Develop skills/education/knowledge; Develop existing skills and strengths; Improve network connections; Obtain different experiences… etc)
(D) How big is the degree of the change required? … What would be involved to make this change? … Who else would need to be involved? (Family, friends, peers, line managers etc) … What support do I need through this evolution? (had to bring Darwin back in here somewhere!)
Once you’ve created your list of actions that affect each criteria, look to put them into a priority assessment and either score as Low/Medium/High or rank them on a scale between 1 (very Low) to 10 (couldn’t be Higher), whichever you feel more comfortable with and then return to the formula.
This can prove to be a useful tool for any change, whether it be a case of shopping at ASDA or M&S or right through to Moving your business from its current location to somewhere new.
Coaching to success welcomes the opportunity to submit a proposal to help you, or those around you that will be involved in change, from creating a smooth transition to helping avoid conflict where two or more people are concerned.
Simply give us a call on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to discuss making that change! We look forward to hearing from you.
Having read this, why not check out Neil too by watching our YouTube video HERE.
