The book is written by Barry J. Moltz, a small business expert who has worked with thousands of small business owners over the past 20 years . The purpose of the book is to help readers make the changes they know they need to make in order to improve their businesses.
The book offers practical advice and strategies for overcoming resistance to change, identifying and prioritizing the changes that need to be made, and implementing those changes effectively.
The book has received positive reviews from readers and has won awards, such as the 2022 NYC Big Book Award .
Being a ChangeMaster
The key is just to start somewhere. Sometimes, almost anywhere will do. Forget the giant, risky leaps. The key to making successful change is not making fatal mistakes along the way that you can’t recover from.
Often, when looking back, we tout the changes we made as massive risks, but in reality, there wasn’t one significant change but rather many small and incremental ones that led your company to a better place.
Take action and commit to it
You’ll never find the perfect time to do whatever it is that you desire, but it’s always the right time to start. Even if it’s just one pushup, that’s one more than you did yesterday. Take the simple approach to be better than you were yesterday.
Simple to say, but it’s challenging to be consistent on a daily basis to take action towards that goal. By committing to and taking action to do just one pushup often leads to more, longer workouts, and increased motivation.
Apply gentle pressure
If you start overthinking or doubting yourself, apply a bit of pressure to take action. Pressure can bring out the best in you. Why do you think diamonds are so special?
Create that pressure on yourself, whether you are counting down from 10, imagining yourself going live on television, or setting a deadline or timer to get yourself to move into action.
The 20 Steps to Making a Successful Change Part 2
- What positive affirmation or reward can you give yourself after you complete the first small step?
- Share the success or failure of this step with your mentor.
- After talking with your mentor, rate your success in accomplishing this step from 1 to 5 (lowest to highest).
- How did your success (or failure) reinforce your inspiration to—or your fear of—change?
- What is the next smallest step you can take to move toward making this change?
- What positive affirmation or reward can you give yourself this time after completing this task to fight the discomfort of change?
- Once again, share the success or failure of this next action or step with your mentor or support person.
- After talking with your mentor, rate your success in accomplishing this step from 1 to 5 (lowest to highest).
- How did your success (or failure) reinforce your inspiration to—or your fear of—change?
- What is the one thing that will help you not give up on making this change?
Seek multiple sources of advice
There is no single business guru out there, and there is no one correct way to do things. Seek advice from several different sources to get a 360-degree view of the marketplace and your business. Consider assembling an informal board of advisors that meets quarterly to give you various points of view and better inform your own opinion.
How to become a change master for others
As a leader, you must establish a clear goal and explain where the business is headed. Help your team understand why the change is critical and how it will benefit the company, employees, and customers.
Articulate the company culture and principles that support the change, and set small goals to establish momentum and eliminate inertia. Let your team have autonomy in deciding which actions need to be taken.
Find out what your team fears about change and ask them what they need from you to support them. Create a culture where small failures are acceptable to reduce fear and penalties of transformation.
Shift your point of view
Forget radical changes. Start by slightly shifting your point of view. This way, the change is not so extreme that you can’t return to where you were if this new approach fails.
Expect the change to be successful
Forget failure and expect success! Formulating new mental maps of that change in your brain and where it can take you will help make this a reality.
Find the internal commitment to change
There is no reason to pay for advice if you are not going to act on it. This doesn’t mean always following the consultant’s advice. But try to find a way to integrate it into your decision-making process.
The process starts by understanding why you want to implement change and what will happen if you don’t. You need to know what the cost of staying exactly where you are will be.
Make small changes first
Making radical departures from current practices is difficult to get your brain comfortable with, especially if your business is not a disaster. So, implement small pieces of advice first and measure the results before tackling more extensive changes.
It is important to adopt several pieces of advice, not just one, so you can judge the long-term outcome. This way, you can start to trust that the change will actually move you in the direction you want to go.
The 20 Steps to Making a Successful Change Part 1
- What is the change you want to make?
- How are you currently doing the thing you want to change?
- Why do you want to make this change?
- What will happen if you do not make this change? Be specific.
- What inspired you to make this change?
- What makes you uncomfortable when you think of making this change?
- Who is the one person who can support the change? Why are they the right person for this job?
- What precisely can they do to support you in this change? Name a specific action.
- Reread these tomorrow and make any changes to your answers.
- What is the smallest step you can take to move toward this change? Be very specific.
