Today is Tuesday, November 4th.  Election Day.

The day we, as a nation, elect the next president of the United States.

It’s been a long two years of presidential campaigning.

Regardless of who you voted for there was one word, one theme that resonated on both sides – change.

In conversations along the way, with people from all walks of life, I asked why they were voting for the presidential candidate of their choice.  And often the answer back was, surprisingly, “I don’t know.  I just want change.”  They didn’t know what kind of specific change they wanted.  They really didn’t know the facts about each of the candidates but they wanted change so whichever candidate projected the word, change, to them best got their vote.  It wasn’t so much the issues or their voting records in the Senate; or even which candidate’s personality they liked better.  It was simply the word, change.  I wonder if those people really understand the change they are voting for.

Now let’s look at, change, from a business perspective.

I hear the word, change, a lot from CEOs, company presidents and business owners that call me up seeking business advice about what to do next in their business in order to remain competitive and profitable in the marketplace.

These business people generally know something isn’t right in their business and sense they need to change something.  

When business people say they want change, they need to consider what that really means.

Some points to consider:

Change for the sake of change is not a good thing.  Are you making a change for the better or a change for the worse?  Sometimes you don’t need to make big changes in your business.  All you need to do is tweak a few things and everything is fine.  Other times it’s not change you need to make, it’s complete overhaul. 

We need to think through this completely undefined word called – change – that has been brought to the forefront by politicians. 

In business, know where you are going, what you want to accomplish and think through how to get there.  If you change just to change, without knowing what that means, chances are you will make the wrong business decisions.

Regardless of which candidate is elected the next president of the United States, there are going to be changes ahead in Washington D.C. and in how this country is governed. 

Know what change means in your business.