I have been reading lately. There is nothing shocking or revelatory about this statement as I usually have a book on the go, reading is simply part of my culture. The recent source of literary focus has been ‘Crucial Conversations Tools forTalking When the Stakes are High’ by Patterson and Co. (it is worth the time studying). It was recommended by someone who I highly esteem so I jumped onto Amazon and downloaded it the same day. I read the first chapter and then my internal resistance started to kick up a fuss. It took me an entire month to get onto Chapter 2. I found every excuse not to read it; there was not enough time, I was too busy, I was too tired, there was a good movie that needed watching. The real reason for all the pushback was that this book demanded change of me. In it I could see a number of my own personal faults neatly dissected. It was like walking into biology class all over again and seeing a rat splayed out across the table with little labels neatly pinned to its innards with the same vomit inducing effect. This was not a simple change either; it is change that is going to take time, effort and a lot of practice.

Change is the sort of concept that dredges up an entire spectrum of emotion in people, from the energetic reds of excitement to the mysterious grumbling radio waves of discontent that settle in the pit of your stomach. Some people get a kick out of it; others (70% of the population) find it something they would rather not do. There is so much that can change as well-jobs, systems, where you park, what you eat, how you style your hair, company policy. Just the sheer thought of changing so much can paralyse people into indecision.

Here is the irony, even if you do nothing change still happens subtly over time. You age, things wear out and need replacing, and people will come and go in your life. Relationships are never static-even if you think they are. There are always new opinions being formed. The weather changes daily. Like it or not change is here to stay.

So how do we manage change? How can it be moved from this big scary monster in the room to something that can be embraced by everyone?

Do not change just for the sake of change. New CEO’s sometimes make this mistake to shake it up and stamp their authority over everything. Others change because ‘everyone is doing it’. Change can happen for a variety of reasons. Change in a crisis may be different to the planned redundancy of a product line. Be aware that it will impact people differently depending on each situation. You will need to tweak your communication and management to each situation. If you find that you are shifting gears from one crisis to another continually then perhaps a hard look at yourself in is order.

Do not mistake change for growth. Not all change is beneficial. Be careful what you change; process altering, system tweaking and restructuring departments may not be the real issue. It may be behaviour that needs to shift in order to improve production and that takes a different set of skills to alter. A long hard look at both the content and condition of your organisation may be in order-especially if you have already changed recently and it did nothing.

Internal change of things within your control is far more effective than trying to change external forces. You cannot change the weather. You can however change communication between staff, shift company culture, and encourage a healthy work accountability.

Find a mutual purpose between the you, the instigator of change, and those that are being affected by the change. This can require time and effort to prevent push back. Find a common goal that appeals to those who are possibly bearing the brunt of any shift and dialogue with them on it. Spend time before and during the shift coming up with a common ground that you can both build off. This can provide a metric for measuring how effective your change will be. If your common ground is ‘improved production methods allowing for ease of production and less time wasted getting the job done’ then that is what you need to measure to show that the change was worth their while. Set up small goals to achieve that reinforce the change and desired effect.

Change and growth can be painful and annoying-ask any teenage boy. The clearer you are about what needs to change, why it should change and the desired outcome before you embark on the journey the better the results will be. If you are not clear what you want then you will be unable to communicate that to others, there will be no buy in and you will fail horribly. Not only that the next time you try change something everyone will remember how you performed last time and you have the extra negative expectations to overcome.

Well managed, well executed change for the right reasons is well worth it and sets you up for the next shift. Where possible spend the time getting it right.

Truth and Lies

Ten years ago I invested a chunk of change into two courses about truth. One was a yearlong study of principles that were universal and could be applied into any situation. The other was based on cognitive psychology and had you look at where you were telling yourself a ‘truth’ that simply was not real. The content of both courses has been invaluable over the years. In a rapid turnover world it is testament that both are still available and running a decade later. I’m not here to sell you a course today; I am here to talk about truth.

We live in a world with a lot of information but not a lot of truth; that has been said before, and not just by me. The internet has become a self validating tool for almost any point of view. Pick an opinion, search it online and you will find a dozen articles supporting your belief. Of course you were right. Now search for the diametrically opposed position and another dozen articles appear. Try it. Pick something a little out of the ordinary “women should or should not wear trousers” for example.

No wonder people have such trouble sticking with the truth. Advertisers and marketers make a living out of manipulating truth to make their product more appealing. Products may not quite live up to what you interpret the advert as but it is too late as the small print got you. Some people go as far as becoming pathological in their lying; taking it to the point where they live the lie so well that they believe it is true even when shown otherwise.

In a world with so much misinformation we are breeding a generation of people who struggle to trust and who struggle with commitment. Recent studies highlighted the personal relationship issues for the Millennial generation, findings that can be attributed to not quite being able to trust completely. Part of the lack of trust has to do with how easy it is to manipulate the ‘truth’ online. A friend of mine went on a Tinder initiated blind date this week-he was disappointed because the girl he met looked very little like the edited and polished photos she had on her Instagram. If they are having this much trouble with trusting a partner then just imagine the trouble they are having trusting your word as a professional or as a brand.

This is why when someone who lives the story that they tell comes along people, after a little scrutiny, embrace them. Integrity, more than ever, is becoming a pathway to success. People will watch what you do far more than they will listen to what you say, and the two better match up. A track record matters more than ever when gaining credibility.

What can you do that enhances truth in your business?

Refuse to deal with liars. Call them out. Get rid of them. Sideline them. Surround yourself with people that you can trust and rely on.

Do not live a lie yourself. Tell great stories but do not make false promises, if anything under promise and then over deliver. If you cannot see yourself living up to your advertising then pull the ad.

Do great work. More than ever showing up consistently and reliably and producing something that matters in a manner that makes your clients happy is going to build your reputation bigger and faster than a fancy advertising campaign. The internet, the very thing that makes truth hard to find, is also the biggest amplifier of people sharing their experience of your work. Sure some people will try manipulating that too, you can hire ‘bots’ to post positive reviews about you should you wish, but the truth will eventually come out. There is no quick trick to greatness and success.