Plan For Change Because It Is Coming

Change is inevitable but it doesn’t always have to be a surprise. When we become comfortable in our position (industry structure, market leadership, etc), we open the door for change to catch us by surprise. How do you keep your eye’s open? By scanning the areas of possible change …. and planning fo

Phil McKinney

12 Nov 2007 — 1 min read

Change is inevitable but it doesn't always have to be a surprise. When we become comfortable in our position (industry structure, market leadership, etc), we open the door for change to catch us by surprise. How do you keep your eye's open? By scanning the areas of possible change …. and planning for the unlikely. Taking the steps to plan for change is something we should all do.

Plan For Change

Long range changes in growth
Changes in buyer segments served
Buyer learning
Reduction of uncertainty
Diffusion of proprietary knowledge
Accumulation of experience
Expansion (or contraction) in scale
The product, marketing and/or process innovation
Structural changes in adjacent industries
Government policy changes
Entries and exits

If you want to explore and plan for change:

For each of the areas of change, list the extreme case if the change became a reality – both positive and negative.
From that list, determine the impact on your business/career.
Then develop strategies/responses that will optimize the benefit and/or minimize the negative impact

You may not be ready for every possible outcome .. but you will be better prepared when change happens …

The question for you: Are there other areas of change that should be added to the list?

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Phil McKinney Twitter

Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.

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