Change is hard. My 4-step guide to implementing change into your business, successfully

How long are you expecting this to take: what is a fair timeline for implementing the change?...

…The last question a client asked me at the end of our kick-off meeting.

A bit like being asked “how long is a piece of string?”, I couldn’t give him a specific number of months. It would have been wrong of me to try to. But after years of leading change programmes, I know there are things you can do to make every day, week, and month count.  

This was my reply:

“It is really important to be clear on your vision, what it is you are trying to achieve and the steps you need to take to get there”.

I encouraged my client to write it (their vision and change priorities) down.

Why?

Because by documenting and sharing it with your team you will create a shared understanding and alignment of what it is you are trying to achieve.

Overhead photo of people standing in a circle each putting their hands into the middle, one on top of each other

Alignment as a leadership team is absolutely critical.

Alignment means you are all on the same page and working towards the same goals.

Alignment also creates a culture of being able to have open and honest conversations with each other if things aren’t working.

Change programmes are rarely short-term affairs (realistically you’re looking at a minimum of 12-18 months to embed changes that impact most - if not all - aspects of your business).

For those looking to implement significant change in their business here are my top tips:

  1. Have a process and business rhythm in place to maintain momentum: being able to track progress is essential.
  2. Celebrate what you have achieved and always think about change as a positive. It really will help with establishing a healthy culture (crucial if change is to be successful).
  3. Try not to get frustrated at the pace of change – it won’t make change happen any quicker.
  4. Try shifting your mindset and focusing on all the things you have already achieved as a business. It will put you in a better frame of mind and will propel you forward. Success breeds success.

Once you get into a rhythm of doing things well, you’ll keep doing things really well and it will get easier and easier to implement change moving forward.

A hammer hitting nails into a piece of wood. The first three nails from left to right are bent out of shape. The last nail on the right is flush to the wood having been hit in straight

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