We’ve already discussed why it’s so hard to change, even if we know exactly as a businessperson that development is inevitable. But there are types of business decision-makers for whom it is natural to have to break tradition from time to time, rethink their activities, and develop new directions. They are the ones who take the saying seriously that “we are either moving forward or backwards, but we cannot stay put”. This perception will be the key to success in the years to come.
Forced change
Many people talk about ‘change’ as if the word itself clearly refers to the crisis. We have already analysed which manager personalities think so, and we have also seen that they are represented in the business with no small share. Incidentally, there is a significant difference in this perception between entrepreneurs and employees. This is also due to the fact that the basic characteristic of people who are not afraid of change is that they do not like limitations, they want to be masters of themselves, they want to be responsible for their own success, and they want to take control of themselves. Indeed, it can be observed that the majority of employees are much more afraid of change, as this is why they choose to be much safer employees. Although these two types of contracts are getting closer in terms of their terms, faith or misconception still confers significant benefits on employee status. A lot of people in business decision-making only mention the phenomenon as a “typical employee attitude”, the essence of which is that a given employee goes to work, works the required number of hours, and focuses not on performance but on time. They have no responsibility as they put down their work, go home, and live their lives. Of course, this is a sort of thing, because there are a lot of expectations on the employee front as well, and it is not true that all employees stand by their jobs. But without knowing the exact proportions, we can still find a plethora of employees in decision-making positions. Obviously, they won’t change unless it’s out of compulsion. Why would they complicate their own affairs by even stirring up already proven methods? However, we all know that if a change is not self-inspired, its success is highly questionable. It is very often heard during development projects that “you need to convince the management that …”, which is why business development professionals are amazed today.
Change from within
Therefore, jobs are in trouble where the proportion of workers who are receptive to change is not very high. Because convincing an entire company that market norms have been completely overturned, and therefore new strategic directions are needed, all through management that is also afraid of transformation, is an almost impossible challenge. Although these passive managers obviously do not articulate their own being, they try to flaunt very effective and seemingly true doubts, but most of all, they have their own fears in the background. And the people who are evolving of their own accord, all the while, are no longer very much concerned with the lagging behind. They’ve been chilled too many times by saying, “this has yet to be reconsidered”, and now they see exactly that there’s no really sensible argument for waiting. Because the demand for progress comes on their own, they are very proactive and can be very dynamic, giving them a significant edge in the market right now. It is important to know the proportion of people of this quality in the company we manage, because they will certainly be needed to move us in a new strategic direction. Analyses and evaluations should still not be left out, and doubts should be dispelled after proper investigation, but it is certain that the age of change has begun, and the later or the slower one reacts to this fact, the more the future will fail. If it’s a huge corporation, this downfall could take place years later, when decision-makers who were opposed to change that year will no longer be there. For smaller companies, the process is quick and spectacular, as missed opportunities become very apparent.