Making Changes Easily: The Change Guide for People in Business

Copyright © 2014 Louise Corica.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-2417-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-2418-4 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 05/20/2014

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Know What Change Is

Chapter 2 Develop Your Vision of Your Change Ideas

Chapter 3 Brainstorm Change Ideas and Workshop the Best Ideas

Chapter 4 Motivation And Commitment to Change

Chapter 5 Change How Your Business Thinks—Step By Step

Chapter 6 Principles For Planning Change—Just the Basics

Chapter 7 Essential Change Management Practices and Rules

Chapter 8 Techniques and Tips

Chapter 9 Change and Productivity

Chapter 10 Putting It All Together

Appendix

End Notes

This book is dedicated to my parents for providing a living example of a good work ethic and teaching me the importance of never giving up if I don’t first succeed; to my brothers and sisters for their shared experiences in business and contributions when a second opinion was needed; to my grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and aunts and uncles, who gave an added dimension to my life lessons over the years; to close friends Pop, Jan, and Mary for their continued and ongoing encouragement and support through some really tough times over the years. I send best wishes to my nieces and nephews as they grow and make changes in their own lives. I am grateful to be blessed with sight to see the sunrise, hearing to enjoy the sound of the birds as they sing so joyously at the dawn of every new day, and feeling to experience the freshness of the morning air. These are the gifts I value most each day I am here. Smile today and be glad that you have this moment in time. The lyrics from Pharrell Williams song, Happy, Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break, are apt because it’s what my days are like now. You, too, can clap along if you know what happiness is for you. Now, that’s the truth!

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.

—Galileo Galilei

Foreword

Adapting to a sudden, unexpected change in our personal or business lives is one of the most difficult challenges in life. It’ a natural reaction to want to have full control over our lives and seek out ways to make everything as it was. But the truth is no matter how hard we try there are always going to be situations in our lives that we have no control over. As the saying goes – The only constant in life is change. Change is positive, it brings opportunities to expand both personally and professionally and with almost every new life experience there are both advantages and disadvantages. At first glance you might not appreciate all of the aspects of a change you are facing but by drilling down into a situation you are certain to find aspects that you do love.

So what happens for those who choose to avoid the constant flow of changes that go hand in hand with being a human? In our life’s journey we have all come across those who seem to spend most of their time hiding from the wonderful opportunities that life offers. Shackled by a lack of self-confidence and fearful of what each day will bring they constantly sabotage their chance to ever reach their full potential by not adapting to change. No one has ever reached their full potential by playing it safe and docking close to harbor in an effort to avoid waves rocking their life boat. In actual fact intensely focusing on ensuring everything stays static opposed to stretching yourself to accommodate and reach new goals as circumstances change uses more energy. The truth is there is only one place where we encounter complete stillness and unfortunately that’s after we take our last breath.

So is there a magic formula or hidden secret to managing change, are their methods you can take on board to become more adaptable and efficient so that you are always poised and ready and able to face change head and come out the other end triumphant? If you’ve spent years wrestling with an avoidance attitude towards managing change the good news if you can now put that issue to rest because within the pages of this insightful book you’ll discover just how manageable change is when you have the right resources, knowledge and tools at your disposal.

If you want to become your best-self, embrace life and squeeze all of the opportunities available for you to grow personally and professional you have to accept change for what it is. For many people change is framed with negative connotations, but when you accept change, you’ll find it’s the catalyst that provides you with a clean slate on which your future plans, self -confidence, education and flexibility is built.

Through the pages of this book, self- education, repositioning your attitude and embracing change for all it offers your life will be enriched. In the end all it takes is a ‘can do’ mind-set and the drive and passion to believe in your own ability so you can harness all that you are destined to achieve.

END

For further information contact:

Lynette L Palmen AM

Founder and Managing Director

Women’s Network Australia

www.womensnetwork.com.au

Preface

We all experience the challenge of change from time to time. This book will help you manage change more easily.

There is a reason I wrote this book. I started off with few advantages, but I have an inner strength, tenacity, and staying power that have surprised even me at times. A near-death experience in high school changed my life for the better. When I was training for the state championships in discus, shot put, and javelin during my final year of school, an illness incapacitated me to the point at which I had to learn how to speak and walk again. Speech therapy, physio, and numerous tests became the daily norm for me for several years. The plans I had had for my life and career were gone, and I had to rethink everything about my life and what I could do and make new plans. As it happened, having to push through the pain of recovery and the uncertainty of what lay ahead made me even more determined and stronger for the experience.

I worked full time and studied at night to earn a Bachelor of Laws degree, a Diploma of Legal Practice, a Diploma of Risk Management and Business Continuity, a Diploma of Linguistics (Basic), Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and Certificates in Project Management, Leadership and Management, Time Management and Basic Supervision, to name a few. The work I did in all of these disciplines provided a great foundation for all the roles I have undertaken. There is always more to learn.

My illness made me work harder; whether in school, sports, further education, or as an employee, I wanted to be the best I could be. I worked multiple jobs to earn the money I needed for my education, as learning was and is a passion. I studied on my own time, as many disciplines as my budget would allow. These experiences made me push harder when others might have given up or wanted someone else to pay their way. The people I have met since then, who had far greater challenges than my own, inspired and motivated me to aim for even bigger things. My approach to working on projects with an attitude of gratitude and a positive outlook has put me in touch with many outstanding businessmen and businesswomen, most of whom inspired me to do even greater things with the time I am given.

Change is inevitable. Some people accept change, and others resist it. Coming from a rural background and having a passion for sports and learning have developed in me a drive to succeed and to be the best I can be in whatever I do.

Throughout my career I have noticed that keeping things simple is the best approach. Working in the fast-paced mining industry for several years, where the operations are open 24/7, and everyone has to play their part and do it well to avoid negative consequences taught me the value of well-laid plans and that, when you play your role effectively, everyone wins. Your ability to do what counts, to achieve the changes you hope for, and to do just that bit more each time is the key.

The methods, techniques and concepts in the chapters that follow are practical. There are footnotes and citations for the documented evidence and survey results, but the focus isn’t on academic detail. The ten ways to make changes easily are the most important elements—the supportive tips to help you make a start in your own life and business.

You are where you are because of past decisions and activities, but you can achieve great things with the simplest of changes. If you challenge yourself to change one thing, even this course correction can see you on a different shore than you could have ever imagined.

You are in charge of your destiny, whether it’s your day-to-day activities or a lifelong passion yet unfulfilled.

Forbes’ thought of the day: The only thing constant in life is change. — Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Lynette Palmen, AM, Founder and Managing Director of Women’s Network Australia, for her ability to inspire her business members. I appreciated the assistance of the businesswomen who provided quotations and words of wisdom from their business experiences for my first book.

I am also grateful for a few of my stand-out bosses who challenged me in the past two decades: the late Barry Whitehead, studio manager at my first job, who showed me how creativity sells. Geoff Price, general manager of operations at my first mining job, who challenged me more than any other boss to learn it all in whatever role I was in. Roy Swan, technical director in my second mining role, who showed me that, with an extra bit of polish, one could shine even in a dusty environment.

My thanks to Ms Quentin Bryce, a governor of Australia, whom I met when she was governor of Queensland, who inspired me at our first meeting with her encouraging words to keep working toward my goals and challenged me to shape my own destiny.

I also thank the Australian Institute of Company Directors, which offered the scholarship I won for young women who aspire to be executives and for directorship placement.

Finally, I am sincerely grateful to the teams at Balboa Press for working with me, sharing their specialised skills and talents, providing sound critique, and encouraging me to finish what I started.

Over the past several years, certain events have motivated me to make some hard decisions and bring about big changes in my life. The challenge was to make these decisions and all the necessary changes to live my dreams.

Introduction

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead. —Louisa May Alcott

Ever since I was young, I have wanted to be in business. I was surrounded by the family businesses. I loved to write, and with the encouragement of university professors when I returned to study, I haven’t stopped writing. When I was challenged by Mrs Dunbar, my high school principal, to take up public speaking and participate in essay competitions as a way of having a voice in our community, it was just the beginning (and, much to my