Preparing for Change

By Brian Rush, CPA

Like many of you, it is hard for me to believe that it is already October and we are in the fall months. Although I know I enjoyed the summer, I can’t remember what happened to it! But now we are well into the Fall Seminar Series, and I look forward to the Tuesday night sessions as a chance to meet up with old (read “longtime”) friends and to learn something new. This year’s speakers and topics have been most enjoyable.

As we begin our wrap-up of 2009 and look forward to 2010, it is clear we are going to be faced with many changes. Almost all I read about the economy suggests that the recovery will be a slow and modest process. As trusted advisers, whether in audit, tax or consulting, we need to proactively help our clients through these periods of change and encourage them to maintain a positive outlook. Perhaps the ideas below will help you make this happen.

There is a large body of change management knowledge, but the foundations of almost all of this knowledge address the phases that an individual or organization must go through during the change process. Referring to the Prosci model, the five specific stages that must be realized for an organization or individual to successfully change are:

• Awareness: recognizing why change is needed
• Desire: the motivation to participate in the change process
• Knowledge: knowing how to change and how to measure results
• Ability: adopting new skills and behaviors to make the necessary change happen
• Reinforcement: encouragement to sustain the change

When these stages are understood, the change management processes and tools can be applied with the least resistance and maximum buy-in. This requires a structured approach so the transition will be controlled and smooth.

Applying this to everyday pressures, however, is difficult, as one tends to get bogged down in daily tasks. What can work, though, is to step back from these pressures, clear your mind and take a fresh look at what’s happening. Research and networking go a long way in helping to attach a framework to the realm of change. Thereafter, analysis and judgment are key ingredients to developing a successful plan.

Whether you are considering growing your business or branching out to provide other services to your clients, the most important step is to prepare a plan that guides you through the change process. This plan also should provide measures that allow you to modify it if necessary and give you reasonable assurance that your objectives will be met upon successful implementation. All these concepts apply to your clients as well.

The economic, legislative and regulatory environments are in a state of flux. Maintaining the status quo will not take us where we need to be down the road. I encourage you to give some thought to where you want to be and develop a strategy to attain those goals. It takes less time to do things right than to do them over.

My best to all of you.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 11:25 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.