There's nothing to fear in changing your time and cost software

If you're a time based billing professional like an architect, land surveyor, cost estimator or consulting engineer you have nothing to fear in changing your time and cost software.

What is it about the prospect of change that can make us feel paralysed? We can become anxious with sweaty palms. Why do we feel like this, what’s the cause of this underlying fear and what can we do to address it?

I talk with people who have out grown their current systems and have found great alternatives that fit within their budget allocation yet never replaced it. Why? Fear of change. It’s a powerful and real fear for a lot of us.

We’re terrified that something will go wrong during the transition that would bring our business to its knees. We’re afraid to find ourselves with the worst of both worlds: an old system no longer functioning and a new one that we have to get to grips with.

Change within a business comes in 4 stages. Anticipation, regression, break though and consolidation.

Anticipation is the exciting stage of change where we anticipate the benefits and make our transformational plans.

Regression is when things get harder before they get better.

Breakthrough is when we finally see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

Consolidation is when we turn the benefits of change into business as usual.

It’s not so much the change itself that people fear. The terror lies with the regression phase, and our fear is that this regressive stage will become permanent. We need to remind ourselves that taking a step backwards before taking 2 steps forward is an essential part of a positive change.

With preparation, contingency planning, buy-in, testing and metrics, you’ll find that bringing about change is far easier than you thought.

Bill Gates sums it up with reminding us that we’re not alone with our fears. “People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented didn’t they? People feared coal. They feared petrol powered engines…there will always be ignorance and ignorance leads to fear, but with time people come to accept change”.

Your life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by change. So come on, grasp that change by throat and feel the power as you conquer that fear and make a positive move forward!