When a business does not achieve its expected results, it may be time to think about implementing change. In these situations, companies evaluate the statistics, the cash flow, listen to the customers and take a closer look at everything from the day to day operation of the business to its corporate culture. It is then very common to also ask when is the right time to make any ambitious changes.
Dan Cable, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School, has written an interesting article in which he considers the ideal time to change. Cable suggests that, prior to change, the following questions should be asked:
1 – How big is the change? He believes “the basis of change is small in human behavior, rather than grand organisational changes.”
2 – How might your workforce respond? This would be difficult to predict. The labour force is now more connected, informed, educated and cynical.
3 – How will you create joined-up change? It is necessary for differing perspectives of change to be aligned to avoid confusion and to be beneficial to the organisation.
4 – How will you lead change? Change can be conducted in different ways and ideas can come from different levels within the company, from the bottom up.
5 – How will you reframe change? The word “change” is not always a good one and leaders should be able to encourage their employees to face any difficulties that may arise.
6 – Which “change stories” will you share? According to Cable, successful “change stories” in other companies are always helpful to encourage and give hope in times of change.
7 – Are people central to your change strategy? If people work today, looking for a better tomorrow, organisations certainly function better.
As you can see, a leading figure is fundamental in the change process. Before thinking about change, the ideal is that companies are in a constant process of change, rather than seeing themselves forced into a process of change. Cable speaks of change as though business leaders are implementing change projects which have clearly defined conclusions. Today’s leaders are typically overseeing continuous change and success in organisations, and often leaders do not need to ask these questions. Cable is right when he speaks of change being the group activity often led from the bottom up – the leader’s role is to ensure that the culture of their organisations means constant change is embraced by all.
You may also be interested in
By Liza Robbins. Katarzyna Grabarczyk, Kreston International’s Member Services Manager, was in a Teams meeting with partners at a Kreston
By Liza Robbins. How did Apple become so successful? Its technology isn’t any better than its competitors’. But it’s pushed
By Liza Robbins. One of my friends founded a company that was successful beyond her wildest dreams. It grew fast,
By Liza Robbins. How do you build a multi-million dollar company? You might imagine that you need to constantly innovate…
By Liza Robbins. We’ve got used to thinking of 2020 as ‘the year that changed everything’. I think that may
By Liza Robbins. 51 weeks ago, in the first week of 2020, I wrote an article reflecting on how our
By Liza Robbins. Christmas is almost here… …And if you’re celebrating, hopefully you’re as ready as you can be. But
By Liza Robbins. Early in his career in a Big 4 firm, Alex Koretskyi worked in a Shared Service Centre
By Liza Robbins. At the height of the pandemic, a large UK bank ran a webinar about managing finances. “The
By Liza Robbins. Your team is preparing the accounts for a company that is struggling during COVID… …And their CEO
By Liza Robbins. It’s become a cliché to say that these are tough times. They are. But if there’s one
By Liza Robbins. I follow all of Kreston’s firms on social media, particularly on LinkedIn. And recently, I noticed a
By Liza Robbins. In January 1990, a Colombian plane crashed on Long Island, New York. It had been in a
By Liza Robbins. It’s a bold, ambitious statement. This month, Kreston Reeves in the UK has pledged to the world
By Liza Robbins. Last year, Ian Smith decided to reduce his working hours, taking off one day every fortnight. “It’s
By Liza Robbins. Today I’d like to congratulate Kreston RM SA in Colombia… Last month, they won a significant contract
By Liza Robbins. What’s the value of a Kreston membership? Sheji Valiyakath, the Managing Partner at Kreston SVP Chartered Accountants
By Liza Robbins. Your employee is working hard from home. The standard of work they do is excellent. The problem
By Liza Robbins. Last week, two Kreston firms became the first ever to exchange referrals on Kommunity, our brand-new platform.
By Liza Robbins. September is the month when Kreston Partnership in Brazil normally looks at each staff member’s work and
By Liza Robbins. One of your clients, a family-owned hotel group, is preparing for an IPO. You’re thrilled at the
By Liza Robbins. Over the past few months, so many people have struggled with remote working. It’s been difficult to
By Liza Robbins. Have you ever seen the Lion King musical? It’s a wonderful, fresh take on the Disney cartoon
By Liza Robbins. One day in the far future, when I look back on this strange Coronavirus summer, I’ll probably
By Liza Robbins. “We always advised clients never to have a joint managing director… Then we went and did it,”
By Liza Robbins. It was the longest video call of his life… The auditor had just spent six hours on
By Liza Robbins. Now that the Coronavirus restrictions are slowly lifting in the UK, the Kreston International team is finally
By Liza Robbins. Last week, I shared with you a powerful video recorded by Philip Olagunju, director at PEM Corporate
By Liza Robbins. “Racism is every day for me,” says Philip Olagunju. “It’s not about being chased down the streets…
By Liza Robbins. This is a high-risk moment. All over the world, Coronavirus restrictions are being lifted… …And there is
By Liza Robbins. Last week there was a riveting interview in The Sunday Times magazine. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of
By Liza Robbins. About three months ago, Mark Taylor received a referral from a Kreston firm in North America. “The
By Liza Robbins. It’s a Thursday afternoon, and 50 staff members of Van Herwijnen Kreston in Holland are meeting online.
By Liza Robbins. It’s December 21, 2021. It’s nearly two years since the Coronavirus crisis took the world by storm…
By Liza Robbins. The Auditor General in Zimbabwe recently requested tenders from six accountancy firms. Kreston Zimbabwe won it. The
By Liza Robbins. If you were a carpenter frustrated because your team didn’t want to wear safety masks, where might
By Liza Robbins. Friends who use Facebook – I don’t! – mentioned to me that their experience has changed considerably
By Liza Robbins. January 2020 was less than five months ago. But it feels like a different lifetime, doesn’t it?
By Liza Robbins. It was 1665, and the Great Plague of London was in full force. Isaac Newton, then a
By Liza Robbins. It was the recession of 1991. In America, McDonald’s saw its sales decline by 28%. Meanwhile, Pizza
By Liza Robbins. Is your firm ready for the Coronavirus? The last few months have exposed just how vulnerable our
By Liza Robbins. Last month, Marie-Laure Delarue became EY’s first Global Vice Chair – Assurance. Her appointment brought the share
By Liza Robbins. “Liza, who do we have in the Ukraine?” Kreston Ioannou & Theodoulou, a firm in Cyprus, had
By Liza Robbins. Two Kreston firms… At opposite ends of the European continent… Both looking to uncover * why *
By Liza Robbins. If you walk into Exco Poland this week, you’ll find a colourful scene. The firm has literally
By Liza Robbins. “People used to be focused on doing their job. But now they see things differently. They’re here
By Liza Robbins. What makes Apple products so compelling and so popular? After all, they’re just computers, phones and smartwatches…
By Liza Robbins. It’s that time of the year when people are thinking about the passage of time… Looking back
By Liza Robbins. We’re coming towards the end of the year… So just before we move on to new topics
By Liza Robbins. Do you know the 2nd quickest way for your firm to grow? I know, I know. It
By Liza Robbins. Once a month, if you walk into the WeWork LaFayette offices in Paris, you’ll see a familiar
By Liza Robbins. Rich Howard had a client doing business in 5 countries. Because he had visited several of the
By Liza Robbins. “This programme was one of the reasons I sold my firm to you.” “I was able to
By Liza Robbins. When something isn’t running smoothly in your business, you might look in different directions for a solution.
On May 19, 2019, the Swiss Corporate Tax Reform was approved in a popular vote. Most of the new measures
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. As you know, part of our long-term vision is for all Kreston firms to bear
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Let me ask you… When was the last time you went to a networking event,
The UK has recently released the first full year’s figures for the Diverted Profit Tax (DPT) – the so-called ‘Google
December 2018 saw changes in many tax regulations, to be initiated that month or in January 2019. These included:
The UK has previously set out a number of scenarios which might possibly reduce friction in terms of the customs
Why you should offer cybersecurity services to your clients (and an easy way to start) Cyber security, and the
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Kreston members – Did you catch my announcement earlier this week? Drumroll please… The Kreston
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. How many times have you felt the pain of rejection from a potential client? You
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. If you’re thinking of doing more business internationally, this probably isn’t the first region you
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. How much of your business is taken by the Big 4? Losing out on business
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. “We all want to grow to the level of the Big 4, but it’s difficult
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” But
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Last week I received an email from the chair of a large Kreston firm, telling
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. “I was very attached emotionally to my firm, and it was difficult to let go.”
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. ‘I should have started sooner’… We’ve all felt that regret. When you assess risk for
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Last week I left you with a question . When all your competitors claim that
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. “We provide high-quality accounting and taxation services.” “Our mission is to provide top-quality financial advice.”
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Recently, a Kreston firm in Asia was looking to help a business they work with
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. What’s the connection between muesli…. taxi cabs…. And Kreston? In theory, nothing! But in 2014,
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about what accountancy firms have to do
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. For the past three years, the average annual growth rate of Kreston GCG in the
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Petra Uylen’s client had a problem. They needed a tax advisor, an accountant and a
By Kreston CEO, Liza Robbins. Since I became CEO last year, I have been visiting Kreston firms across the world.
Kreston member Duncan & Toplis is now an accredited centre for the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) and will
Irish accountancy firm BFCD recently moved from its existing accountancy association to join Kreston International. We spoke to partners Margaret
Kreston Iberaudit has updated its Spanish regional fiscal guides for 2019. You can access all the guides here: Fiscal Guide
By Elena Bargados Varela, Tax Manager at Kreston Iberaudit S.L. Due to the recent surge in the number of software
From 1 April most VAT registered businesses with turnover above £85,000 will have to file VAT returns through new Making
Author: Sarjit Singh, Executive Chairman at Kreston member firm, Ardent Associates LLP. The future of work is not just about learning a
By Andrew Griggs, Kreston Board Director and Senior Partner of UK member firm Kreston Reeves. In February, the Institute of
“The China One Belt, One Road is going to be the new W.T.O – like it or not.” These are
“A crushing, horrible, unfair disaster”. That’s how President Trump described inheritance tax; he aims to abolish it by 2025. Other
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been garnering a lot of media attention of late. And for good reason – its potential
Earlier this month, the Senate voted in Donald Trump’s controversial $1.4 trillion tax reform bill by the narrow margin of
To say that there’s been a backlash against globalisation in recent years would be an understatement. From demonstrations in France
“May you live in interesting times” goes the Chinese expression. In fact, it’s actually more of a subtle barb to
Earlier this month, the Slovenian Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, stated that he “want[s] to position Slovenia as the most recognised
In the UK, they’re known as Generation Y, in Germany Generation Maybe, and China has labelled them as the generation
Rodney Sutton, head of manufacturing at Kreston Reeves, recently shared his thoughts on the UK manufacturing industry following the referendum
The adoption of international accounting standards has brought many benefits to the private and public sectors. This being said, there
Remote working is becoming a way of life for many professionals and the ability to work in a variety of
A common global language for business affairs, IFRS Standards are required by more than 120 jurisdictions in the world. Recently,
Automated technologies and artificial intelligence in our society will challenge many professions in the future. Some of them may be
Crowdfunding is still relatively new but should still be considered as a viable source of equity. Nowadays, it is providing
A legal amendment to the Finance Bill recently accepted by the UK government may pave the way for big changes
In the business world, there are bumps on the road and financial setbacks. In this situation, it is easy to
Day by day, technology is becoming an essential part of our lives, as the way we manage our financial life,
A new generation is coming to challenge the market. The Millennials make up a quarter of the US population and
Managing change is one of the biggest challenges for businesses as it requires a huge effort from managers and organisations
Sustainability reports are released by companies and organisations of all types, sizes, and sectors, from all over the world. A
Accounting is an indispensable tool for entrepreneurs to manage their business. The data provided by competent
Thinking about the risks involved in business has become an essential part of an enterprise’s strategy. Risk management enables organisations
When a business does not achieve its expected results, it may be time to think about implementing change. In these
The Financial Times recently reported the dispute in the courts between the UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and MasterCard. The Competition
For many, the accounting profession may not seem the most attractive in the world. But with technology and innovation at our hands, this is about to change.
By following these five steps, communication has everything it needs to flow better, regardless of where your business is located and where the people you
The need to go global is something that has emerged over the past decade and promises to challenge business for the next coming years.
Recently a considerable change in the SME market was announced through business news on the internet. The Big Four have
There are five topics that we must remember when dealing with working personal relationships in international business…
Slowly, one of the last socialist countries in the world is preparing to make changes to its economy, but how will this be done?
Developing countries attract the attention of investors by offering good opportunities and new markets, making them attractive for anyone thinking of expanding their
Through a mobile app, a small business can promote its brand, products, and services, expand its sales channels, interact with the target audience and get
Last month, experts at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles looked at certain megatrends and predicted several economic scenarios for 2040 to
When a business does not achieve its expected results, it may be time to think about implementing change. In these