To build a sustainable and successful business, business owners must manage change skillfully. While change may be necessary at times, it may also be difficult. In fact, if not managed properly, and thoughtfully, change can disrupt your business in unintended ways. Nick Hughes, President of Your Planning Partners, has managed change in business and knows what can be done to reduce the risks. We are pleased to share one of Nick’s blogs on change below.

As business owners we are in the change business. So much of what we do is initiating and managing change. Change is an essential component of building a successful business.  Some examples:

• We create new products
• We expand into new territories
• We implement new systems
• We bring new people onto our team
• We add new clients

So our big goal is to minimize change failures. And yet when embarking on change there are so many things that can go wrong that it is difficult to focus your attention on the few things that really might cause you to fail. This is where Managing Risk comes to the rescue. It is simple to do and yet provides valuable direction.

The first step is to identify every EVENT that could cause the change to fail. Some examples:

• We run out of money
• The new product is not accepted by our clients
• We are unable to convert the data from the old to the new system
• A surge of new clients brings our operation to a halt
• A change in legislation causes a change in direction

Once you are satisfied that you have identified every potential risk event, evaluate the PROBABILITY of each one happening; rate them as High, Medium or Low probability of happening. And if the event does happen what will be the IMPACT; High, Medium or Low?

You now know the HIGH/HIGH’S. That is, those events that have a High probability of happening and a High impact if they happen. Those are the ones you focus your attention on. What can your team do to prevent those events from happening? Or what can you do to lessen the probability and/or the impact so it no longer rates a High/High?

A simple yet powerful tool that helps you achieve successful change.

 

Nick Hughes is President of Your Planning Partners Ltd., a Toronto based consulting firm that helps small business owners build strong sustainable businesses.  Your Planning Partners has helped hundreds of clients achieve the success they want for their business.  Nick is a keynote speaker and a published author on a broad range of small business topics.  Read his musings at www.yourplanningpartners.com and follow him on Twitter @NickatYPP.