The Winds of Change Are Blowing!

When I first began my computer repair business in the early 1980s, we were one of only four computer repair companies listed in the entire Houston area Yellow Pages. A few years later I noticed that there was an entire page of computer repair companies listed in the same Yellow Page book. The result of this increased competition caused me to look for additional ways to bring added value to my clients while at the same time maintaining a fair profit margin.

As the years continued the number of computer repair businesses in the Houston area Yellow Pages increased from one page to approximately 8 to 10 full pages of advertisements. I did not like this change but I knew that I could not ignore it. The American writer James Baldwin once said: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

As I look back over the years I realize that this change caused me to continuously reinvent my company. What began as a company that serviced only IBM and Compaq personal computers evolved into an organization that provided systems integration services for NASA (Johnson space Center) and many other Fortune 100 companies. We became stronger and better as a result of how we dealt with this change.

My point is we must recognize that the winds of change are constantly blowing in our businesses, our countries and our lives. We can deal with change in a number of ways. One way we can deal with change is by simply ignoring it. In this way we can be compared to an ostrich that sticks his head in the ground and becomes completely unaware of what is going on around him.

Another way in which we can deal with change is by fearing it. This fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) will cause us to build walls around our businesses, our countries and our lives while looking for ways to destroy this change.

Another way we can deal with change is by embracing it. Embracing change requires that we look it dead in the eye while evaluating its components and possible effects on our businesses, our countries and our lives. Once we understand the components of change then we can develop a plan to help us deal with it effectively.

As leaders, we just have to look at what’s taking place in our businesses, our country, our lives and even our world in order to recognize that “The Winds of Change Are Blowing”. How are you dealing with it?