Change is in the Air

Change is a constant theme in business and in life. It’s never easy because old habits die hard and some do it better than others.

Advertisers and marketers are always telling us about the changes they’ve made to their products that have made them better then ever. There is an endless amount of experts and self help resources that talk about the changes we can make to every aspect of our business and personal habits that would make us better people. I’ve recently experienced significant changes in my life and it caused me to reflect on what those changes have meant for me, both in the office and at home.

It’s difficult to know when to make a change, it often depends on why we are doing so. Are we changing in reaction to a situation, to something that went wrong? Are we anticipating a problem and trying to avoid it by making a change? Perhaps the change is forward thinking and innovative– we believe there is a change we can make that will make life much easier for our clients, something they aren’t even aware of yet. Sometimes we do things to become a leader in something, to differentiate ourselves from the competition.

As a business, how do you handle communicating the changes being made? Many of your clients may like the status quo. Do you broadcast it the changes you made thru every medium you possibly can and talk about it whenever possible? Do you build anticipation prior to making a notable change? Or maybe it’s better to say nothing at all and let the results speak for themselves.

We have to be careful when making change, as the saying goes, “dont throw the baby out with the bath water” – meaning when you fix a problem don’t change the good things that you (or your organization) do. Change is constant, but we can’t take away our value proposition, the reasons that customers hire you. While change can be scary, we need to embrace it. Technology as an ideal example of how we manage change. We all must embrace technology and use it to varying levels. It makes life easier and our customers expect to work with professionals who use currently acceptable forms of technology. The challenge with technology is to use it to maximize efficiency, but in a way that we do not lose our personal touch.

At GEC, we’re embracing the winds of change. They won’t steer us away from our ultimate goal, which is to always put the customer first; they will, instead, help us find the best route to achieve our goals.