4 reasons why change doesn't happen in your business and what to do about it

All change in business start with an idea. If this intriguing idea is good enough, then it will turn into a new project. Your team will test it in a case study, so it will be supported by data, forecasts, and other projections, to see if the change is worth it. But when time passes - even when the case study proves its value - nothing changed and the idea dies. 

So, what prevents change from taking place in businesses?

For every business and organization, change is inevitable in order to survive. However, most businesses choose not to change. In this case, what was once an amazing opportunity with momentum seems to have died out. Because no action was taken.

In this article, you will discover why businesses refuse to adapt and what happens if they do not. You can overcome this this business-killing behavior by following the proven and tested methods shared in this article. This will allow you to implement any change in your business with a positive outcome.

Why is change in business important?

The speed of change is currently incredibly high at the moment. According to a 2018 global survey, 47% out of over 2,000 managers participating reported. For a business to survive, they need to reinvent their businesses every three years or less. 

The benefits of changing your business is different for every business. Because it depends on your business objectives and industry.  That’s why I share some general benefits of using change in your business.

🔷 Change encourages innovation and improves the efficiency of work processes

🔷 Promotes skills growth in order to respond to adapting to the changes

🔷 New business opportunities in order to achieve business objectives

🔷 Boosts collaboration and staff morale in your business

What happens if your business doesn’t change? 

If you refuse to implement change in your business. Not only you will miss out on the benefits, you’re most likely to face three common issues related to change.

Losing influence within your industry

Your business will lose influence within the industry, or it can be forgotten. For example Blockbuster - when Netflix introduced a better business model - Bloackbuster refused to change. As a result, it went bankrupt and Netflix is now worth $105.19B.

To conclude, not changing your business will not only damage yours. But everyone that relates to your business will experience the consequences. Over time, the loss of influence can help you lose revenue, attracting new staff and funding.

Losing money and your top-performing employees

Many employees are interested in expanding their skill sets and finding opportunities. If a workplace doesn’t provide development and the business refuses to change. Then these employees will find a place elsewhere. Without change and development, not only the overall performance will drop. This affects also your income, your brand image and you'll lose your best employees. 

Your products can’t develop

Without change, your product development will stagnate. And if there is no reason for consumers to buy your product, they will look elsewhere. As a result, they won't trade their money for your product anymore because your product doesn't provide value to them. 

That's why, when a company fails to keep up with trends and technological advances. Then it will run the risk of producing products that nobody wants or needs anymore.

4 reasons why your business won't change and what to do about it

There are a lot of different reasons why your business won’t change. Here are 4 reasons why the change you attempted to implement did not succeed and what you could do to fix them.

1. A lack of decision making 

In order to realize change, there has to be made a decision. But according to global consulting firm BCG, we’ve actually gotten worse at making decisions: “75% of transformation efforts don’t deliver the hoped-for results.”. This whopping stat results in a lack of decision making. So what can you do to overcome this hurdle?

The first step is deciding who the decision-maker is. Make sure that it's crystal-clear who the he is and what his tasks are. If it's you who is the chosen one, then you must recognize the impact you can have as decision maker on the whole business.

Therefore, to make the right decisions. You must as decision-maker weigh the tangible and intangible impacts of your options. This will help you make more big decisions. The more decisions you make, the better you'll become at it. It's just a matter of making a decision.

2. Resistance from the existing culture

In some businesses you will have more resistance than in other. Some have a more adaptable culture, while other firms determine their change based on numbers and processes. It's your work to identify the characteristics of your company culture and work within it.

How to deal with resistance?

Resistance can come from any department and it could be any reason. Your employees might worry about their role or job. Or a change in management can mean you have to apply new systems and technologies.

It's common that key stakeholders and decision-makers may not directly see how the changes will benefit. That's why in order to deal with resistance, you have to shift their mindset.

So, if management or employees aren't open to accepting or embracing change. Then it’s because their mindset is focused on the problems. Your goal is to shift their mindset from “This change is too difficult, costly and ambitious to realize.” To “This change could be easy, rewarding, and normal. 

Here are 3 things you can implement to shift their mindset:

🔷 Be transparent to boost the cooperation of your team.

🔷 Provide training and technology for a smooth transition.

🔷 Involve all the departments to prevent miscommunication.

3. Communication is key

Do you know what happens if you have a great idea, but it is never communicated? Nothing!

That’s why no matter how great an idea is. If the idea stays in the boardroom, then nothing will happen because no one will ever know this idea existed. That’s why the sooner you communicate the change, there is less chance of no action being taken.

How to communicate change in your business?

Rather than directly sharing or keeping the ideas in the boardroom. It's better you have a plan in order to present it. The Why, What, How communication sequence helps you to build trust when communicating a final decision across the team or organization. 

If you make a presentation in order to show what changes you want to apply in your business. Remind the team first about your use of the three decision levels. Then describe why the decision was made at the level selected. Explain what the final decision is and what input was considered during the decision-making process. The last step is to show everyone the impact of the decision on the team.

4. There is a lack of buy-in form key influencers

Having a plan or strategy to change the business in one thing. But getting consensus from key influencers on it to execute is something different. To do so, you'll need their approval before you can start to do specific action.

Your employees, higher management and even the board may need to be considered as key influencers. There may are also others who have similar influence when it comes to executing the change. In order to get consensus from key influencers, you first have to identify who they are. After that, you can begin planning your strategy to win them over.

What can you do to solve this?

From implementing a new technology in your business to changing a long-standing service provider. You can make decisions easier when you can support them by data. If you use tools such as a ROI analysis, a cost-benefit analysis or a payback period. Then you are able to back-up your reasons why certain change benefits the business.

In the case that you need to implement a change in your business, but you don’t have the required data. Start with developing a business case to gather data. Then multiply that across your entire business to define how the changes will benefit your business.

Is your business ready to change?

Change is a good thing, it encourages innovation, boosts staff morale and it creates endless opportunities. Now it’s your job to figure out what stops you from changing your business. Once you know what stops you, then you can use the steps given in this articles to overcome these hurdles. By overcoming these hurdles, you will be able to implement changes in your business that will result in positive results.