Plan for Change
“Predictions are hard, especially about the future”.
Regular readers of the blog will know about the importance of adaptability in business. There will always be things, beyond your control, affecting how you do business.
The only constant is change
As you adapt to new circumstances you simply tell your employees and clients that you have to try something new and everybody will be happy, right?
Wrong.
The people around you need consistency.
Your clients need to know what they can expect from you and where your product is headed. Your employees need to know how they are being measured, how they can bring value to the company and how to communicate with the afore-mentioned clients. Your investors and other stake-holders will take a look at your work every quarter or less and they want assurances that they were right to put their faith in you.
You have to adapt to change. And yet you have to give everybody around you a consistent, reliable experience.
Plan for change
It can be done.
There are things that you can control: your company values, your mission, you product priorities, and more.
Share these constants with your employees and, yes, also with your clients. The more they understand what you are building and how, the more amenable they will be to relevant changes you have to make in your day to day business. Your employees will know what can be changed and what can not, giving them more autonomy to make decisions.
Then build a live, rolling plan. Based on your company goals, values and strategy, you can have a tactical plan that is always looking twelve months in the future.
Simply put: your next four weeks are set in stone, everybody knows what is expected of them. Each month, review your current situation to make any tactical changes required and set the following four weeks back in stone.
Allow for adaptability without drastic changes and ensuring you maintain a strategic vision.
To Do List
- Determine the constants in your business. Expect to have several drafts and reviews.
- Share this with your employees. Gather feedback, let them tell you where your vision and your actions are not aligned.
- Only then, build your tactical plan.