Facing change as a business

Every organization is going to face challenges from time to time. It is often not a matter of what challenges you face, but how you address them, and what solutions you come up with. Learning to properly face change and challenges as a business can be the determining factor of whether or not your business succeeds or fails.

When an organization is facing a challenge, it has three basic options or course of actions that are available to take:

1. Do nothing.


2. Understand the challenge and create solutions.


3. Hire outside help to assess and facilitate the solutions.

Let's take a look at each of these three options, and determine the pros and cons of each.

The first is to do nothing, and this is of course the worst solution, as if the threat or challenge is real, it will not go away on its own, and ignoring it may spell doom for your company. You can not sit by and do nothing without expecting further problems to arise, and your organization's performance to suffer as a result.

The next option is a great option, but only as far as the business or organization has the necessary skill set, tools, resources, time, objectivity, knowledge, etc, to come up with a viable solution, and properly evaluate the challenge or problem facing the company. Without taking the time to properly hear all sides, and learn everything possible about the situation, a viable solution can't be found. Often when a company faces a challenge, they think they employ option number two, but find that they come up with a plan but stink at the follow through and implementation of the actions required. Thus, not only is a good understand important, but a motivated team of responsible individuals committed to seeing the solution through to the end.

The last option will work well only if the company or outside help is going to take the time to implement option number two, meaning they look into and fully understand the problem the organization faces, and creates viable solutions that take into account available resources and personnel. An outsider is often the best option as it means having an objective third party, often one with more experience, helping to meet the existing challenges and overcome them. A word of caution is that they are not always the answer, and should not be looked to as an end all solution.

The best way to know whether or not you should attempt to solve your problems and face your challenges on your own, or hire outside help is to do a self-evaluation. Are you capable of looking at the challenge objectively? Are you committed to finding good solutions? Ask the same questions of the third party you consider hiring for this task. When faced properly, a challenge provides opportunity for business growth, not ruination.