Planning is about managing change. We plan because we want to change something or, something has changed and we need to figure out how to adapt to it.

Change management is often treated like a project with a beginning and an end. It is frequently seen by senior management as a tool for driving up productivity and profitability. It is commonly interpreted by the troops as “being made to do something that doesn’t really need to be done.”

Managing change is not a project; it is an ongoing, never ending process of successfully adapting to changes within and outside our control.

Let’s look at change management in a new way. Managing change is not a project; it is an ongoing, never ending process of successfully adapting to changes within and outside our control. Nothing stays the same for long. What worked yesterday won’t necessarily work today. Customers change, suppliers change, key employees leave, the economy stumbles, it rains in California. Change is an everyday part of life.

Some people hide from change; they see it as disruptive and painful. Such folks need to work on their attitudes and beliefs about change before they can manage it.

On the other end of the spectrum is the change fanatic. Such a person is always changing things, applying the latest management theories or tips picked up at a recent seminar. This person can’t stop tinkering. David Mahoney said, “There comes a moment when you have to stop revving up the car and shove it into gear.” The change fanatic needs to learn when that moment has arrived.

The remainder of us have varying levels of acceptance about change. Some avoid it where possible but face it when they must. Others embrace it with enthusiasm. We can be convinced that change is a good thing provided it is planned and implemented wisely.

Once we see that change can be a good thing, most of us want to do more than respond to it; we want to lead change. Effectively leading change means getting in front of it and finding ways to use it to our advantage.

A strategic plan is an organized process for changing the business from what it is now to what it will be in future.

The most useful tool for leading change is strategic planning. A strategic plan is an organized process for changing the business from what it is now to what it will be in future. It anticipates and plans responses to changes thrust upon us by external forces and it creates plans for internal and external changes within our control. It is the steering wheel of our business.

A common excuse for not planning is that things change so fast in a particular industry that a plan is outdated as quickly as it is written. Ironically, fast changing environments need planning more than slow changing environments. At minimum, planning creates structure for those working in a chaotic environment. Without planning we surrender completely to the chaos. With planning we may find a way to harness the chaos and use it to our competitive advantage.

I think resistance to planning is most often brought on by misunderstanding or misapplying the process. It is seen as a time dump rather than a time investment that will pay off down the road. It is seen by some as an annual event where everyone gets together to sing Kumbaya and put forward fantastic plans and ideas that have nothing to do with the day to day burden of getting the job done. Hopefully, this new way of looking at planning as managing change will win some converts.

Leading change means venturing into the unknown. Using planning to avoid action until we turn over every conceivable rock is as dangerous as not planning at all. The plan is the roadmap, not the road. It is by venturing down the road hat we get somewhere useful.

What do you think? How do you manage change? Please leave a comment.