Column
Fall in Love with Change
By Jim Blasingame
It's a cruel irony that just as you get things as you want them—almost to the point of falling in love—it's time to make changes.
Once a successful product or strategy could be relied upon to be useful for at least a year and some for several years. No more. Because of technological developments and globalization, we're often lucky if we get six months out of a great idea or innovation.
But remember, nothing I just said is particular to small business. Time, tide, and technology wait for no man, woman, or company. Indeed, the past 10 years have been a very instructive period for small business owners to learn from our big-business cousins about dealing with change.
Sometimes the lesson was a positive example. After virtually being bankrupt, Harley-Davidson made a remarkable comeback, not so much with new products, as with a new approach to the marketplace.
Sometimes the lesson wasn't positive, but no less instructive. John L. Chambers, CEO of Cisco, the technology company said, "We have to face the difficult challenge of changing when things are going well." Unfortunately, Mr. Chambers apparently learned this lesson too late. This company has fallen from grace as its technology went from being vital to outdated in a relatively short period of time.
No business owner can afford the luxury of falling in love with any product, service, application, plan, or strategy. But for small business owners, we can't even afford to fall in like.
Write this on a rock…Don't love your stuff. Embrace change, and love the fact that you can create something new.
Jim Blasingame is the award-winning host of the nationally syndicated radio/ Internet talk show, "The Small Business Advocate," and author of "Small Business Is Like A Bunch Of Bananas." Find Jim online at www.jbsba.com.
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