No doubt you've heard the worn out mantra that the only thing that's constant is change.
But, have you ever thought about how this could affect your business? The majority of businesses, when faced with the challenges of change, seem to shrug off these pressures in favor of the opinion that what there are experiencing is just a rumble.
It's a rumble, all right: about 50 on the Richter Scale! Not only is the technology changing, but more importantly, the relationship between firms and the people who work for them has already changed, and continues to do so.
Far from a storm in a teacup, it's more like a teacup in a vast storm.
It used to be that the people just went to work, waited for the boss to tell them what to do, or did what they did the day before.
Since then, organizations have been devolving more and more responsibility to the employees.
This has been due in part to the disappearance of the job for life; but primarily it has been because of the need for companies to change rapidly in order to stay in the game.
So, how can you adapt your business to the constant and rapid change that is occurring in the workforce.
There are three things that you can do right now.
1.
Revisit your understanding of what your core business really is.
You should do this regularly, as often as once per month.
It's all too easy to be distracted by activities that fill the time, but don't deliver much value.
2.
Constantly review the structure of your business.
Even if there are only a few of you, ask yourself what you're doing that they could do.
Responsibility, together with the authority to carry it out, needs to be shared.
To the extent possible, you should only be doing what you do best.
The rest should be given over to others.
3.
You want to make sure that your products and services continue to improve.
And you should never allow yourself to remain the same or worse, fall behind, for any reason.
Although it can be useful to compare yourself to your competitors, remember that they do not set the standard.
You do.
Make sure that you ask yourself these questions often, and be sure to do your research.
Then you'll have a much better idea about what to do next.