The first concern most of them had was just dealing with all the CHANGE lately, both personally and professionally. I think we can all easily understand this; who hasn’t been affected by the economy lately? But, change can be really exciting. I study people and how they deal with change. In fact, I wrote a book not too long ago on this very topic, titled, Power to Change. (You can download a chapter at no cost by clicking here.)
I gave the keynote presentation last month in front of approximately 500 dealers at the AutoStar conference. Afterward, several of the dealers commented on how valuable the information was to moving them personally a nd professionally forward. With that in mind, I casually interviewed several of these dealers to learn just exactly what keeps them up at night.n
The first concern most of them had was just dealing with all the CHANGE lately, both personally and professionally. I think we can all easily understand this; who hasn’t been affected by the economy lately? But, change can be really exciting. I study people and how they deal with change. In fact, I wrote a book not too long ago on this very topic, titled, Power to Change. (You can download a chapter at no cost by clicking here.)
Until recently, for most of us, the last ten years have been pretty predictable: each day was pretty much like the one before. Sure, there were changes; but, because they tended to be gradual and subtle over time, barely visible to us. For business, it was generally clear sailing on calm waters — we knew what to expect, more or less. We counted on the sameness, the routine of things. We planned our business activities with confidence that the next year would be maybe ten percent better than the last, and then the next year ten percent better again. Occasionally we ran into a few bumps here and there, a few surprises that may have thrown us out of balance temporally, but we had no trouble getting right back on course.
I remember reading Future Shock (Alvin Toffler, Random House, 1970) in the early 1970s. Mr. Toffler, a futurist, opined that life and business in the next century would be more complex, more challenging than what we were then experiencing. He cautioned that most people simply would not be ready and would experience “future shock.” People scoffed and said it couldn’t happen to them. Want to bet?
We live and work fundamentally different today than we did in the past. We now operate in an almost permanent state of flux. Everyone knows that change is constant, but right now it feels like change is happening faster and closer to home. That’s what’s known in river-rafting terms as constant white-water. I know some of you are paddling as fast as you can, yet it feels like you’re tumbling uncontrollably over the falls, barely hanging on for dear life. We all know someone – a friend, a dealer or a local business — who has lost their business.
Look at your business model right now. I’m willing to bet it is completely different from what it was even just six months ago. Change is real and the sooner you accept the circumstances as the current reality, the quicker you can retool your business. Retool your business and move on by asking yourself: What do I need to do differently today to get different results? Deal with what is in front of you now.
I have a fellow speaker who is a good friend of mine, that I like to brain-storm with because his background is so radically different from mine. Kevin Sweeney was an all-conference collegiate basketball player before he went into the Air Force. He flew as a combat pilot in two wars and was awarded the United State Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross. In civilian private life, he became a successful executive for a Fortune 500 company.
Kevin is the only person to have successfully landed a KC-135 tanker (the military version of the Boeing 707 four-engine jet) after the two engines on his left wing came completely off the airplane while in flight. He did it at night, at maximum weight, and on a Desert Storm combat mission.
Kevin and I have talked about this experience many times. On one of those occasions, he said something that really stuck in my mind and it applies to us right now. He said he had confidence in both his team and himself. But the key was when one of his crew asked if they should bail out, and he said no. He told the crewman: We have two engines on the right side and a great crew; we work with what we’ve got right now. Obviously, it would have been nice (ideal, actually) if the other two engines were back on the left side, but they weren’t, so their choice was to work what they had. And, that’s what I’m telling you: Work with what you’ve got right now.
Change is going happen whether you want it to or not. The only thing that separates you and the person next to you is how you respond to change. Embrace change by working with what you have in front of you right now. Then ask yourself: What do I need to do different to get different results? Change isn’t good or bad, it’s just different. That is all change is: just different.
Here are five specific actions you can (and should) take to help you not only handle change, but make change work for you. 1. Ask yourself: What do I need to do differently to get different results? 2. Work with what you have in front of you right now. 3. Teach people to embrace and succeed with change. 4. Have 30-, 60- and 90-day business plans and review often, making adjustments when necessary. 5. Own the Play-to-Win attitude.
