How do you feel about change in your business?

It can be hard to change what you’ve become used to. But in reality business is all about change and reinvention. Nothing stays the same, society changes, what’s hot and what’s not changes. We’ve got to keep up with this or our business will shrivel up and die.

Have you ever seen this happen to any business?

I can think of a few examples in the recent past. Woolworths for one, Oddbins being another. There were undoubtedly lots wrong with them. But the 3 that are easy to see are:

•    they didn’t move with the times
•   they did nothing to combat the threats from competitors
•   they didn’t analyse the way their markets were going

So how do you manage this along with everything else you have to do in business? It’s back to the business cliché – spending time working’on’ your business and not ‘in’ it. In practical terms it means taking time out, at least once a month, to examine what’s happening in your business and create time to think up new ideas. You don’t have to do it all yourself, if you have a team they will be happy to help – once they get used to the idea of being asked!

Get a non-exec, a mentor, a coach, a business friend or someone you know and trust. Ask them to come and spend at least an hour and  half with you each month looking at your business.

You can’t see the label when you’re inside the bottle! It’s the same in business – an outsider’s perspective is wonderful. It will hold you accountable for all the things you know you need to do. You will get to see your business through the eyes of a ‘customer’. You’ll have a sounding board for all the ideas you have, the worries you have and maybe the insecurities you have about your business.

Don’t take my word for it, why don’t you try it for 3 months? What harm could there be in that?