Create Change to Ensure a Dynamic and Successful Business

Capers W. McDonald
President & CEO
BioReliance Corporation

Decide Your Guiding Principles

The best advice I have ever received deals with one of the most problematic and therefore one of the most crucial concepts for business ” that of change. Change is inevitable, and there are fundamentally two kinds of change: change we create and change that happens to us. Therefore, the best way to manage the future is to be proactive and create it yourself! With this in mind, I would set forth the following advice for others.

The surest and most practical way to create the future is to focus on the answers to the question, What are we going to do? Of course, this includes the determination of goals and an agreed plan of execution. As you step forward, keep in mind that for every manager s action, there is an equal and opposite criticism! However, there is no substitute for taking action. So, always ask yourself and your team what you are going to do, and then turn the criticism into dialogue!

Being a student of others experiences and an excellent fast follower often works out better in business than being the true innovator. It depends on the goal, of course. However, watch innovators closely, and you will often see either a very fast follower or an adopter of an apparently unrelated solution from another discipline! We can learn from others experiences, after all, and we should strive to arrange experiences in an order for optimal learning, cycling between planning and action.

You need to challenge, empower and thereby develop your people. Listen to others and delegate authority as well as responsibility to get things done. Don t be afraid to hire people who are as good or even better than you. Ask that these managers also surround themselves with outstanding contributors. As complete and insightful as you think your plans are, you should always be ready for a new opportunity and be flexible ” willing and able to change. These approaches have proven especially rewarding for our management team, given the current pace of technological change and demands of international competition.