Tips On Change Management For Entrepreneurs

Most entrepreneurs are dreamers. In fact, dreaming big is the very reason why a lot of us become entrepreneurs in the first place. We want to achieve success. Inside our empires, big or small, are embodiments of our aspirations and our vehicles and partners that help us achieve our goal – the office, equipment, our staff, and our clients. We create rules and procedures that ultimately result to our desired brand of success. We consider rewards and punishments. We create fastidious operation systems to make the processes worry-free. We provide trainings in order for our people to be fully equipped even for the most demanding clients.

However, not everything follows our plans for success, especially when we talk about change. One of the biggest hurdles that every entrepreneur must face is implementing change in the company. Often, the new set of procedures bundled with the best intentions for the company are met with strong resistance and criticisms from its very people. Why does this happen?

First, it is because we have different perspectives inside the company. For owners like us, we prioritize productivity and profitability, to name a few. We assume that something is worth keeping if it produces an acceptable output. For employees, they consider their employment stability, workplace safety, respect, and convenience. This comparison is just one among the many, but it is with these differences that change is often resisted.

How do we properly effect change then? Change is important, especially given the shifting demands of the customers. Since most entrepreneurs do not have the benefit of highly paid HR personnel who could help in a critical change project, here are some of my advice for our fellow entrepreneurs facing this major dilemma:

1. Be open to your people’s opinions. Resistance is not often an act of defiance. Sometimes it is just to point out positive adjustments that will allow everyone, or at least the majority to win. Probably, the reason why accounting is going against your plan is because they see it as unsustainable, given the company’s financial conditions. Perhaps, the new process will physically strain everyone into exhaustion. Maybe the sales team does not agree because they have heard what the clients really expect from the company firsthand.

I am not saying that you must always succumb to others’ perspectives, but rather to consider if they have a valid point. But resistance to change just because of inconvenience is another matter. Never back down from implementing changes if it will be for a better system.

2. Find out the influencers. As business owners, by default, you are always in a one versus all in voicing out changes. Sometimes, even your supposedly trustworthy manager who is supposed to side with the management is the one to lead the resistance. It is always a scary situation, unless you have people to back you up in implementing changes.

In order for you to fluidly introduce change in the company, you must find out who among the few are loyal to you, and from those, who are strong influencers. This means that between a loyal middle manager who is distant from his colleagues and subordinates, and a loyal manager who is warm with everyone, you can seek help from the both of them, but you could expect the loyal manager with good leadership to be able to effect the change more effectively. Unfortunately, this type of manager is rare.

3. Be resilient and consistent. Resiliency means being able to stand by your plans amidst criticism. Consistency means being able to continue the change you have effected with the same ardor when you were crafting it. For you to be resilient, you must never lose focus on the end goal you want to achieve through the changes you want to implement. Always remember, despite the criticisms, that if you could just implement it, the company will be better. If you know for a fact that it will make a huge difference despite your people not being able to see it, give your best in explaining it to them and effect the change. Be resilient in executing changes. In the long run, this shows that you are a firm leader.

However, it does not stop there. Consistency is the next key in becoming a leader of change. Once the new procedure or rule takes effect, be consistent in applying it. The rule must apply to all and not just for those who are willing to adapt. Implement it equally for you not to lose those who are loyal and willing to accept changes in the company.
Major changes are among the most difficult tasks to accomplish given the tendency for people to cling to the status quo. Even with specialized staff the impediments are not easy to overcome all the more for the small or medium-scale entrepreneur with limited resources. Still, in almost all cases, it is not the company size but the lack of determination and boldness that prevents a successful implementation.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. Manila Bulletin, C-4, Sunday, April 10, 2016. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.