Security Sales July 2021 - 74

EXECUTIVE DECISIONS
Business Fitness by Paul Boucherle
Adjusting to and
Implementing
Change (Part 1)
Those who
embrace
change will
drive it. Those
who don't
will passively
aggressively
resist it.
▶ THE ONLY CONSTANT in life is change.
Change in business in 2020 was an object lesson
for anyone who would doubt the words of Heraclitus,
an ancient Greek philosopher (535-475
B.C.). " Nothing in life is permanent, nor can it
be, because the very nature of existence is change. "
Why should we listen to a voice from 2,500 years
ago? Because it is still true today.
Last year changed the direction and fl ow of our
security river with new challenges, fl ows of technology,
diff erent fl ows of working conditions and
adjusting to the Class 5 rapids of your customers'
turbulent needs. Have you personally changed?
Has your business perspective changed? Has your
company revenue model changed? Have your
employees' attitudes changed about work? If not,
how is the weather on Mars this time of year?
Embracing change is mandatory for the survival
of your security enterprise. Changing your
perspective on the diversity of talent and their
diff erent needs for career growth. Th is been a
constant for several years. So how do you begin
that process?
Schedule time to step out of the tornado. Start
by thinking quietly and without any outside voices
and noise. Get out of the offi ce and bring a yellow
note pad. Begin by answering these questions:
▶Will our current business model sustain
growth, as it did in the past, with our current
structure and overheads?
Paul Boucherle, Certifi ed
Protection Professional
(CPP) and Certifi ed Sherpa
Coach (CSC), is principal
of Canfi eld, Ohio-based
Matterhorn Consulting
(matterhornconsulting.
com) and an SSI Industry
Hall of Famer. He has more
than 30 years of diverse
security and safety industry
experience.
74
▶Will our traditional revenue paths grow,
stagnate, or shrink? Why?
▶Have market conditions changed how our
customers use their facilities?
▶Have our customers buying habits changed?
▶Do our processes enable or disable associates'
motivation and loyalty?
▶Do we have the management bench
strength of talent to address these changes?
▶ What will be the biggest challenge to enabling
change? Is it me?
In our executive coaching work, we typically
Security Sales & Integration JULY 2021
paul@matterhornconsulting.com
@swisssherpa
ask those questions. We are rather fi rm in holding
our clients accountable for looking in the
mirror without blinking or crying. Th is process is
mandatory to begin the process of change. If you
get weak knees with answering these questions,
then change will indeed change your company,
whether you like it or not. Once you have gone
through this exercise, put it down for a week.
Pick it up and do it again with fresh eyes and
some editing. Your edits and corrections will provide
a change roadmap for your journey. What is
the next step in that journey?
Engage your departmental leadership using
the same exercise and questions. Do not share
your answers or thoughts yet, it will taint creativity.
Ask them to provide their perspectives.
Th is will be rather insightful to better understand
your bench strength and their critical thinking
skills. Th ere are a few caveats to understand.
1. If your leadership style is autocratic and you
tend to frown on diff erent opinions, this exercise
will not be of great value because your
team will tell you what you want to hear.
Th is echo chamber eff ect will not support
positive company change.
2. If, on the other hand, you are a more consensus
style leader, this exercise will yield interesting
results that you can use to compare/
contrast with your initial work. Your more
proactive leaders will step up. Your change
resistant leaders will also identify themselves.
Th ose who embrace change will drive it. Th ose
who don't will passively aggressively resist it. Just
recognize what seat on the bus your team will be
sitting in during a change journey. With the right
change process, and believe me it is a process, your
entire team will gain energy and engagement.
Well thought out processes that are designed,
defi ned, reviewed and tested, not by management
alone, will be trusted and embraced by
your team. We start by helping clients graphically
Matterhorn Action Process Plan (MAPP)
process change as teams in three steps. It is fun,
enlightening, surprising, insightful, and even engages
the company curmudgeons to share their
perspectives. Th e greatest ROI on this approach?
You will dramatically improve company communication,
respect and collaboration. Th ese are
essential for implementing successful and sustainable
change.
Next month I will share why this process
works so well!
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Security Sales July 2021

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