You may have heard this story or my guess is you have witnessed this first hand. There you are in your home or at work in a conference room on a warm summer day and you hear a nagging buzz sound near the window. As you approach the window you witness a fly futilely attempting to break through the glass to get outside. The fly just keeps on bagging and bagging against the window. It starts to work harder and harder to achieve the objective.  And yet there is no hope. It is impossible for the fly to break through. Just yards away there is an open door where if it only took a couple of seconds to fly to, the fly would be free and would achieve the objective. The breakthrough is there yet the fly keeps doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. You may have heard that phrase as being the definition of insanity. Keep doing what you are doing and you will keep getting what you are getting. Why doesn’t the fly try something dramatically different? Why do business people keep doing the same things over and over again with the same results?  Why do we get stuck in a rut? Why don’t we make the changes necessary to get better results?

Well, there is a formula for change and if we examine it we may find the answers to these questions. First let’s look at the formula.

D x V + F > R

D = Dissatisfaction. There must be some kind of dissatisfaction in you life or business for you to change. If you were getting the results you wanted why would you change? Therefore, a big part of the formula requires dissatisfaction in what your are doing and the results you are (or aren’t) achieving.  V = Vision.  You must have an idea of what you want. Or a vision of where you want to be. This is all about setting goals and objectives. Having a dream that someday you will get there. Unless you have a vision how in the world would you know what to do or in what direction you should go in? F = First Steps. In others words this is the plan you need to complete and the actions you need to take. You need to take the first steps that will launch you toward your vision.  And lastly, the R = Resistance.  Your Dissatisfaction times your Vision plus the First steps you take all need to be greater than your Resistance to change. You need to embrace change not resist it. 

So let’s take a look at your business. Are you satisfied with the results?  Are you implementing the same marketing strategies year in and year out only to see that your sales are flat? Are you still not planning and scheduling your time and keep wondering where the day went? Are you treating people that work for you the same way and wonder why they don’t do the right things or why they keep leaving? Are you the fly that keeps banging and bagging on that window? To make changes it requires you to take a real close look in the mirror. Sometimes that is not easy to do and we don’t always like what we see. Remember the transformation of your life and business starts with you and only you. So take the time to think about this formula.  Jot down the things you are not satisfied with. Set some goals for yourself and start taking the first steps in changing your business. Try something dramatically different. Fly towards that open door. And again embrace change don’t resist it.