The only perennial thing is change. Although this is a relatively old thought, it is becoming more current every day, especially due to the great speed with which they have been produced in all orders and fields.
Processes of change in the personal, professional, cultural, social, political, etc., occur more quickly every day, and not infrequently in unexpected and contrasting ways. And this dynamic, although necessarily applicable to all aspects of life, is presented with greater clarity and intensity in business life. In this field a little more than two decades ago, organizational changes (especially mergers and divisions), procedural or operational modifications (reengineering, benchmarking, IT, etc.), innovations in markets and sales (globalization, B2B, Internet) have been taking place. or e-business, mega-warehouses, multilevel, telemarketing) and inventions in so many other techniques that captivate executives in their courses and graduate training around the world;New differentiations arise in the schemes and concepts for managing companies, in which the concept of POWER as a result of a position or hierarchy, evolves to a more functional meaning of Management: Planning, Organizing, Directing, Executing, and Reviewing.
The change, in its generic concept, can be carried out according to various methods, or techniques, in my view all valid. After having participated in, advised, and / or managed several of these processes, I have come to the conclusion that regardless of the scheme, opportunity, way of leading it, and the other variables related to these transformations, there are four concepts that must be previously considered. in mind, especially in companies. Without being stated by priority rank, since they are equally necessary, these are:
- An adequate KNOWLEDGE of the administrative act to transform is required: Its description, its operation, its result, its weaknesses to improve, the attainable added value, the inter-area effects, the profile and competences of the personnel involved, constitute data and facts that enrich the knowledge prior required. Not knowing adequately and sufficiently the business situation or fact to be modified is practically mistaken. The CONVENIENCE of the actors of change, but especially of those who govern and direct the company, is essential. If they are not convinced, instead of being proactive and leaders, they become a liability, a reason for rejecting the new scheme, and an excuse for not achieving it. This concept, which is increasingly named, debated and demanded, is COMMITMENT. But that widespread commitment,from those who govern the company to the lowest rank of those who execute; it must be totally determined and indeclinable towards the achievement of the proposed objectives, since the new and greater difficulties that arise, especially during the implementation of the new scheme, will only be overcome by the level of commitment that we have. It is also necessary to achieve individual but true commitment, not by staying in office or by false and inconvenient group solidarity. The sum of committed wills generates an exponentially greater group commitment. Finally, the concept perhaps more difficult to achieve for a successful change, is CONTINUITY. The trend, otherwise understandable by our human nature, is presented daily.of returning to "doing things as they were done before or as they have always been done" in a highly contradictory attitude towards innovation. For this reason, overcoming the tendency to abandon the modified will generate a new and permanent proactive attitude that generates results, which will not only be useful but necessary.
Then previously achieving Knowledge, Conviction, Commitment, and Continuity, concepts started with the letter C, are a guarantee of successful Change.
