Russell’s Rules #3 Change is Always Going to be a Challenge

What elements have you put in your plan to deal with resistance to change?

I've heard it said the only person who likes change is the person who came up with the new idea to begin with. Whether it's good change or bad change, people tend to resist change that is being put upon them.

In any growth strategy, build into your time frame an adjustment period. Create a strategy to facilitate that adjustment so it can be received and accepted properly.

Often, dictates come from on high, causing dramatic shifts that affect those who had no input; such a situation will always cause people to resist. Not only are they resisting the change, but they are also resisting the way it was implemented.

Just Do This …

1. Announce the change before you start the implementation.

2. Train employees to deal with the changes successfully.

3. Get input on how to make changes from the employees who will be affected.

4. Expect the change to take longer than expected -- it always does.

How Badly Do You Want It?

The lament of sales people this year has been the down economy. It's also been their excuse for not closing more sales. Is the condition of the economy really the issue? I see people who have developed bad habits, lazy tendencies and lowered expectations. These changes are where they accept their own bad behaviors and consider inactivity as acceptable.

Yesterday I talked with a sales man who made 100 contacts. He never broke for lunch, he stayed on the phone from 8 AM until he hit his 100, and he closed a few deals and lost a few deals. The point is he was a machine at making contacts.

I asked him why he pounded the phones so relentlessly. I loved his response: Because I am a sales machine and I don't live to my standards unless I am closing deals. If I am not putting something in the pipeline every day I am not closing deals every day.

• What is your daily standard of accomplishment?
• What are you doing to drive your business now and later?
• How are you a driving machine in your position?
• How bad do you want what you complain about not having?

Today is the day you start your daily drive to reaching those accomplishments; if you really want it badly enough.

3 Ways to Make a Better Sequel

I Loved Pirates of the Caribbean. Hated the second one. Loved Men in Black. Hated Men in Black II. Loved the Bourne Identity. Surprise, I loved the Bourne Supremacy even more! Then I thought the Bourne Ultimatum was the best yet! Why do most sequels stink? The same reason your customer experiences can get progressively worse – when your motives are wrong.

The Sequel Letdown

Movie sequels rarely deliver because the intent is to milk a concept for as much money as the movie companies think it is worth. They try to capitalize on the concept by rushing the writing, making it more mainstream and making sure all the juicy roles of the original get more screen time in the second one. Notice nothing about the movie viewer interests? Nothing about what can be done new that is interesting? Nothing about making it as good as the original. In fact, I think most film makers expect the sequel to be worse than the original.

Sequels are a letdown because the motivation is wrong and the customer is lost in the money making frenzy. You could argue the same thing happened to Microsoft with its Vista operating system. Sequels happen in the business world as well. Businesses that are successful become more focused on the money than what made them successful – no news flash there. (Although, Apple seems not to suffer from that malaise.)

But what makes Apple, The Bourne movie franchise and others who do well in sequels different?

1. Improved not re-created

The Bourne stories build on the previous movie although the story arcs are different and unique. They aren’t trying to make the same movie again. The sequels are essentially a new movie using known characters. Apple creates new technology essentially using tried and true creative methods but intending on creating dramatically different results. Are you re-creating your process expecting better results? Are your customers telling you they like the new ideas?

2. Know your customer

Facebook is experiencing unprecedented growth. Recently, they changed how their pages look and work and the customer backlash is significant. What happened? They listened to designers more than they did their customers. They lost focus of why they exist. “Improvements” don’t always make things better unless the customer agrees. In the midst of the uproar Facebook has an option to go back to the way it was or ride out the complaints hoping the customer base will eventually get used to the changes. What would you do in the face of growing customer dissatisfaction? Apple and the Bourne movies obviously are in touch with the customers’ expectations of quality and demand. That’s why they work.

3. How important is the money?

Once a business becomes more focused on making money or fueling stockholders as the top priority the focus is in the wrong place. Don’t get me wrong I am sure Apple and The Bourne movies want to be profitable and I applaud that. However, that is not the top focus. The top focus is making a great product, delivered in the best way for an audience they fully understand.

When the focus is on quality and the customer, the money will follow. When the focus is on the money, rarely will the customers be pleased with what they receive, and they are then lost.

Top 5 Ideas for Process Improvement

Self-examination is important to improving your organization. In challenging economic times companies usually resort to panic-selling just trying to bring orders in or just looking at what is to happen next in their industry. Self reflection will strengthen the organization to better prepare for bigger opportunities in the near future.

1. Eat This, Not That

The book by that title tells readers what healthier food choices to make when dining out. Apply the same idea to your business. What are the unhealthy things going on in your business you need to eliminate? Also, what the good ideas going on in your business you want to eat up and apply to other areas? The book uses great pictures. Do the same in creating your book of We Want This, Not That for your business.

2. The Purple Cow

Seth Godin’s book by this title is one I read over and over to remind me we always need to look for better ways of doing things. Actually, not just better but the unique that works. What in your business is old hat that people ignore or take for granted? What are ways you can spice up the employee and the customer experience that really sells your corporate culture? How are you exciting people with your work product?

3. Blue Ocean Strategy

The book by this title challenges organizational leaders to make the competition irrelevant. Hundreds of thousands of copies have been sold, but how many readers are actually applying what they learned on the pages? Step one is to put into action the new knowledge you gain. I ask every attendee to my programs to leave with only 2 or 3 ideas they can use, will use, and make happen and they will take great leaps beyond their competition. What knowledge are you not using?

4. The War of Art

The book by this title is one I’ve read a dozen times. Every business owner knows the basic mechanics of running a business. The science of business can be found in every book store in every city in this country. It’s the elusive art of doing business that makes the difference between running a business and growing a business.

5. Read more books

The four book titles I’ve listed here are great books for leaders to not just read, but digest, take notes from, and put into action. You don’t learn to run a better business watching television where people think for you. Spend your off time sharpening your craft and taking a leadership role in your business by improving your knowledge and putting to use that new information. You are guaranteed to make improvements.

Locate Your Vulnerabilities

One person’s game is another person’s nightmare. My website was hacked recently by a hacker claiming to be from Pakistan, which is just slightly out of my reach to wrap my hands around his throat. In any event, it has been a teachable moment to understanding where my business vulnerabilities are. As a small business significant interruptions to my process can be debilitating. Consider checking your organization for vulnerabilities in the following areas.

Technology

I am not a code writer nor do I understand the least bit about web coding. Technology is becoming so specialized that fewer and fewer people can truly handle all of the multiple technologies companies rely on. Small organizations need to have back up plans and know where to turn when the disaster strikes.

One of my clients purchased a very expensive system at the core of their organization that continues to fail to deliver on the promises made upon purchase. Their tech people are doing all they can, but they often find themselves stuck between designers and hosts pointing fingers at each other. Not a way to run a business, yet I encounter many who are working around these type of situations.

Where are your technology gaps? Do you have the technology you want? The technology you need? Do you have a clue how it operates? You need to have answers because the next vulnerability can leave you hanging.

People

Because I am not a code writer I have to be reliant on my web host and web designer to come through for me in an emergency. My designer was notified the day the site was hacked as was the host. The host tells me there is no way to track a hacker or find exactly how he got in. Five days later my designer is still AWOL. Essentially, my front door to my operation is closed until further notice because the people I count on didn’t deliver.

Who are you relying on to know what they are doing and be available 24/7 in case an emergency happens? Do you have a single person who possesses all of a specific piece of knowledge? A client had one person who could run payroll and the day that disgruntled employee quit his job, a virus was found in the payroll system making it a disaster. Did he do it? The mess was expensive and disruptive. Be sure you have people redundancy for critical information and knowledge.