Once there was a time in business when you could experience a change and then return to a period of relative stability. Nowadays, changes occur constantly - one on top of another. We need to acknowledge change and realize that change is a continuous journey - a way of life rather than a one-time event that can be lived through.

With considerable momentum and continuity building in an organization, it definitely can be said that nothing is ever absolutely certain (other than possibly death and taxes).

These changes and challenges that are encountered can at times bring added strain to business organizations. What is not always clear to us is how much more trouble we would be in for organizations failed to change. Often times people can have a funny way of hanging on to old habits.

In particular, we are often unwilling to quit doing what we can do well, even if it is no longer valuable to our customers. It is easy for people to get stuck in the thinking that got them to where they are today, even though that thinking cannot be used to get them where they need to be tomorrow.

It is important that we continue to break through the traditional thinking and avoid any prevailing mindsets, such as the thinking: it has always been done this way. We need to continually focus our efforts beyond our business-as-usual thinking. As progress calls for each of us to change, we need to remember that constant change is a way of life in business today. Together, people need to simultaneously manage the present and plan the future.

Currently, some jobs are taking on totally new dimensions...making new demands...calling for new work habits. We need to be willing to alter our mindsets as well as our techniques. Rather than continuing with the same old job behaviors that worked well enough in the past, we must learn new routines and make the necessary shift in our mindset so that our thinking is aligned with our new company mission and the new realities of the present work world.

We all need to focus our efforts on doing the right things for our customers. A key mistake can be ignoring how priorities and customer expectations have changed. We can be focused on doing things right, but we really are failing to do the right things. What can we offer our customers that they will value and be unable to get from anyone else?

We need to have an intense and unwavering commitment to making a difference in the business' of our customers. It is important that we look at change as an opportunity...and use it!