The fact is that we don’t really like change, do we? In life and in business we become habitual, we follow patterns that we ourselves, other people or other businesses have followed historically and think ‘’that’s the way we do things here isn’t it’’ and ‘’it’s worked before so why will it not work now?’’

Of course, we shouldn’t simply abandon the past and ignore what we have learned but in a world that is changing SO fast, particularly in the business community, businesses who follow the ‘carry on as usual’ principle will find themselves rapidly overtaken by competition who think ahead and think differently.

If you look at the first quote above from a former CEO of Procter & Gamble, John O’Keefe, he points out that we tend to support our current views with something to justify maintaining the current position and that we frame our mind to look for things to support that fixed point of view and tend to ignore things that may conflict with our views. The result – paralysis and no change!

We have helped hundreds of business grow substantially in the toughest markets – but they have only done this when they have accepted the principle of thinking openly, of thinking that ‘this just might be possible, let’s explore it’ rather than the ‘that will not work here’ approach which blocks all significant progress and condemns the business concerned to be a bit player, an also ran or at worst, to sink completely.

So, open you mind and those of your colleagues and employees – accept the need for change and embrace it. Stimulate progress without abandoning your core purpose.

This is the way the businesses that LEAD think – you and your business can be a leader too – but only if you break the resistance chain and think very differently to dear old Lord Salisbury!!!