Change is hard. The International Space Station effortlessly flies around planet Earth every 90 minutes, traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour. It is easy for the ISS to stay on course, expending virtually zero energy to maintain orbit at breathtaking speed. However, to change its course and avoid collision with cosmic debris, flight controllers on earth require hours of programming the gyros and thrusters, expending thousands of gallons of fuel per second to maneuver 400 tons of fragile space station, along with its cargo and human passengers.
It is often difficult and time-consuming for earthlings to change course, and even more so now as we navigate through the impact of COVID-19 on the staffing industry, on our communities, and around the world. This was one of the lessons learned on Thursday, June 11, when SmartSearch co-sponsored a program on Leadership Skills to Help Increase Sales with Will Matthews, hosted by the California Staffing Professionals Association’s Virtual Conference Series.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein
The program touched on leadership qualities needed for effective change management such as resilience and basic principles of focusing energy and approaching every situation with positive expectations. Successful people find ways to minimize the noise and reduce friction that slows momentum or distracts from the mission.
What can you control? What can you influence? And what is beyond your control or influence? How can you reinvent relationships and activities that drain energy? It is important to focus your energy on what you can do, not on what you cannot do, to move toward your desired outcomes, or change your trajectory.
If you can inspire others to learn, embrace change, and aspire to become more, you are a leader. It takes creativity and courage to change course when obstacles get in the way through good times as well as bad times. For example, when looking to upgrade business software, change management is key to a successful product selection, implementation, and maintenance, which is something we emphasize in our Business Guide for application tracking system buyers.
Whether it is running a business, driving process improvement through digital transformation, or generating sales in difficult markets, it takes committed effort from the top down to adapt to change.