By its very definition, being able to adapt requires change. One of the key blockers which I have seen in many businesses is the very culture itself. This becomes more of an issue for long-established businesses past the 10-year mark. With success can come complacency and this can lead to a false belief that the business can not fail and we just need to keep doing what we have always done – as it has worked so far. It is a trick to balance stability in a business with the need to be able to move quickly and adapt when required. The more fixed and rigid the structure and the culture of the business are the more difficult it will be to implement changes.
I remember having a conversation with a good friend of mine who has built a very successful business in the Real Estate sector. He very much wanted to shake it up a bit and try to evolve the business for the changes which were taking place in his industry. But being such a big ship and with the existing team there was also significant resistance to evolution and adaptation – it is just too hard to do without rebuilding the team. As a result of this, he was unable to move quickly and make the changes he knew were needed fast enough – which was often a source of frustration.
Once again it is essential to have done the work and to have the business culture established so that it embraces change and fully understands the need and importance for it. Without this being in place, it will be very difficult to bring the Team and organisation along with you when required. In most cases, it will simply not happen and your team will be the biggest obstacle to overcome in this process. It is far better to know if this exists in your team BEFORE you need to adapt.
There is no question that the longer you are in business, the more is in place which can prevent the ability to adapt and evolve. Many times this is a result of complacency and getting too comfortable. When things are going well it is easy to fall into this way of thinking and for the entire organisation to develop a “We’ll be here forever” approach. This is very dangerous.
In my businesses, I make it a point to share the good, the bad, and the ugly with the Team and external suppliers. This keeps it real and enables them to appreciate and understand that there are cycles in business and that there is always a need to improve and evolve.
This is done through:
- Sharing of Key Statistics via a Dashboard
- Regular weekly meetings
- When there is a key threat or danger to the business making sure that all relevant team members are aware of this and involved in the handling
- Continually looking at how we can improve all aspects of the business and what we do and engaging the team in doing this.