Adjusting to Changing Times

The current market conditions have put a pinch on profits. Many businesses that have traditionally enjoyed a healthy income have now gone to just getting by. So the question becomes what will you do to adapt and adjust to the new economic realities? And will changing too much take you away from what made you successful in the first place?

Considering the ever-accelerating rate of change in today’s workplace, there may be no more important skill than the ability to adapt successfully to change. That much is for sure. And sometimes, adapting to change comes easily. Other times, however, especially with owning a profitable small business, you will find yourself resisting change. You focus on what you might lose as a result of the change, rather than on what you might gain.

No matter how you might feel personally about the change it is important to adapt productively and positively. Here are a few principles from Dale Carnegie Training that will help you to productively adjust your patterns:

Practice Patience — When it comes to change, many times you want to get it over with and move on as quickly as possible. The cycle of change in the workplace often takes longer than you expect. The change has to be communicated, integrated, and there needs to be time for adjustment of all adjacent organizational functions.

Be Adventurous — Take on the change as a challenge. Throw yourself into planning and preparation, engage others in the process, and chart out new career paths that may appear as result of the challenge. Tap into your courageous side.

Practice constructive discontent — Instead of clinging to the status quo, ask yourself “How could I change for the better? How could the organization change for the better?” Instead of expressing discontent destructively through undermining change efforts, look for ways that the integration process of change could work even better.

Try something new each day — Once we get throw out of our comfort zone, we have a tendency to try to build a new one as quickly as we can. Challenge yourself to try at least one new way of adjusting to change every day.

Ask for input — Others in our organization may have insight into the ways that we can better adjust to change. Ask for ideas and suggestions and for feedback on how well you are adjusting to change. Period of change are times to build bridges, not walls. They are times to be open to input, not defensive.

John F. Kennedy once said, “The one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable.” Put the tips above into practice and you’ll be ready for anything!

This post is brought to you by Dale Carnegie Training Benelux, providers of professional development and management courses in the Netherlands. Please connect with us on Facebook!

Tags: adapting to change, change in the workplace, Dale Carnegie, dale carnegie principles, dale carnegie training of netherlands, dale carnegie training of the netherlands, leadership tips, leadership training, managing stress and worry, market conditions, prevent fatigue, professional development, stress tips, traits of successful salespeople

This entry was posted on July 26, 2011 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Leadership Development, Local Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.