There I go with the David Bowie quotes again. I just can’t resist. Change is hard. It is a rare breed of individual that thrives on change but most of us do not like it at all and go out of our way to avoid it.
It is something that I have been considering myself for some time. I advise clients about change in times when change is absolutely critical to the survival of the business. I tell them that change can be painful but the pain can be worth it in the long run. Time and time again this proves to be true.
As a professional firm, I take pride in being really good at what we do and being really good always contributes to our success. The initial question for me was “what can the business do to be better and what should it do differently?”
That is a hard question for any business that is doing well and before long, I changed it to “what do I want the business to be doing tomorrow?” This is a question I use with clients and it works just as well in distress as well as success. It also provides a destination and planning a route to a destination is a much more straightforward process (unless you are the SatNav in my car, in which case you can find your house in North Cardiff suddenly moved to Holland).
Change is essential in business, however, as the customer, market and environment are changing all the time and if the business does not change, it gets left behind.
So I am taking my own advice and embracing change. I do love my work with clients but working on my own business is just as much fun. I look forward to tomorrow!
John Cullen is a Partner at Menzies delivering business turnaround and insolvency services to SME businesses. For more information about our turnaround advisory services contact John by email at JCullen@menzies.co.uk or by calling +44 (0) 29 2044 7510