Barry J. Moltz - ChangeMasters: How To Actually Make the Changes You Already Know You Need To Make

CHANGEMASTERS

HOW TO ACTUALLY MAKE THE CHANGES YOU ALREADY KNOW YOU NEED TO MAKE

BARRY J. MOLTZ

Copyright 2022 by Barry J. Moltz

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher, except in the context of reviews.

Published in the United States by Vicara Books.

Vicara Books | www.vicarabooks.com

Cover Design: Faceout Studios

Interior Design: Jessica Angerstein

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-64687-062-2

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Dedication

To my parents, Carole and Alan, may they rest in peace, who taught me to act when I wanted to make a change and not just complain about it.

As my dad always said:

If a job is once begun

Do not leave it until its done

Be it big or be it small, do it right or not at all.

The only constant is change.

HERACLITUS , ancient Greek philosopher (500 BC)

Change isnt good or bad. It simply is.

DON DRAPER , a character on the TV show, Mad Men (2007)

Let go of the paddle. All the good stuff is downstream.

As told to me by NICHOLE RAIRIGH ,
CEO of The Apparel Agency (2020)

T HIS IS MY seventh book and the easiest one to write so far. It is because I am so passionate about the topic and personally. I have struggled with change throughout my business and personal life. And Ive seen so many small business owners also battle change even when they know its the only thing to do.

I have always believed that talking about change is not enough. Taking action (almost any action will work) is critical for us to make progress in our businesses and our lives. Any action moves you forward from where you are right nowwhich is the fundamental start of any change.

This became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021 when a lot of the writing and research for this book took place while many of us were sheltering in place. Our normal lives were disrupted. Most companies and people were forced to reimagine their businesses and lives in real-time. These extreme circumstances pushed people to make changes and do things they never thought were possible. For example, I learned yoga from my wife, Sara. I planted an indoor garden. I biked inside on a trainer. I took Karate lessons and trained for my third-degree black belt test over Zoom. Sara and I cooked (and drank wine) a lot more. We bought takeout from restaurants in Chicago where we previously could never get a reservation. We eventually built our dream house in Scottsdale and waited out the pandemic there.

As you will learn in this book, not having a choice is one reason change happens, but it does not guarantee you wont go back to your old ways when the crisis recedes.

For this book, I want to thank Maria Anton, who collected and helped summarize much of the primary research around change. I also want to thank Rieva Lesonsky, my mentor and friend who edited this book, so you can understand what I was trying to say!

Finally, I am still hoping that my wife, Sara, will make a change and read one of my books!

Barry J. Moltz

Chicago, IL + Scottsdale, AZ

20202021

M Y WORK WITH thousands of small business owners over the past 20 years inspired me to write this new book. Well, that is not exactly true. More accurately, my frustration and the resulting challenges working with small business owners forced me to write this book. Let me explain.

Im often asked by many companies and small business owners I dont know to help them. They are referred to me, hear me speak at an event, or find me online. Typically, theyre feeling stuck by a problem, and their companies cant move forward. For example, their business growth is stagnant or worsetheyre either losing money or not making enough to grow their companies or be motivated to keep going. After analyzing the situation, if I agree to work with them, we mutually decide on a go-forward strategy. I help them assemble a detailed plan to make any changes and the critical success factors and actions that need to be completed. They agree that taking these specific steps will help them solve their issues, grow their companies, and make more money.

And then, almost nothing happens.

Unfortunately, most small business owners implement a few easy steps but never take the critical or difficult ones that could make a difference. This has long frustrated me since we worked hard to develop a well-thought-out plan and were both excited to see the result. While it may not work perfectly once it is put into action, I know the plan will move their companies forward from where they are stuck now. I also feel bad because they are paying me their hard-earned cash to help them, and we both had agreed on the actions they needed to take and the time frame they needed to do it in. In the past, I tended to blame the inaction on myself. Did they not trust me enough to take significant steps, or did I just give them bad advice? However, after doing the research for this book, I realize I was not the main reason for their inability to change.

I wrote this book to figure out why small business owners do not make the changes or take the actions that they know will help them reach their goals. Where is the gap between the sincere intent to make these changes and the actions to actually do it? What holds most people back and keeps them stuck on the same path over and over again? Why are they still so comfortable not making any changes and staying on the path that clearly does not work for themone that is not adding to their happiness or feeling of success? What steps do they need to take to slowly break free and start to make those changes today that will help them in the long run?

In this book, I reveal much of the psychological research around why change is so hard for so many people and the real-life strategies that every small business owner can employ to make the changes they need to make in their companies right now.

I am not trying to convince you to make a change but rather help you make the changes you already know you need to make but have not been able to do.

Later in the book, each solution section includes the exact steps you need to take to make a change in a particular area:

• What You Do Now: Its critical to identify what you are currently doing before implementing any change. While articulating this may be uncomfortable, it is a necessary step.
• Where to Start to Make a Change: Starting is the hardest part. Change needs to have a single-entry point to be effective.
• How to Analyze: You need to reflect on what is going on to see if you can make progress.