If you or I were to stop what we are doing right now and make a list of things we would like to change in our lives, it would likely be an easy task. Whether the list is short or long, there is something we likely want to be different than it is now. So why haven’t we changed those things? This is the premise of ChangeMasters – How to Actually Make The Changes You Already Know You Need to Make - the latest book by small business guru Barry Moltz.

In this lively read, Moltz starts by introducing change by getting into why we are resistant to change, offers a tool to help us analyze change, then gives some areas where we could make change in our businesses, and thus in our lives. As I read this cover-to-cover, I could relate to what he wrote about, and had the following takeaways.

It’s Easier to Not Change – From not cleaning our office to not reviewing bank statements, it’s easier to not change to do these things. Much of this is biological – there’s 2 chapters that specifically get into this. Where Moltz says you can skip over these, I highly recommend reading these well-researched passages to get an idea of how our brains are actually wired against change.

Take Baby Steps – You have to start somewhere and to this end there’s a 20-step Change Worksheet that can help you assess issues and make a plan to execute on them. Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps; the questions may be tough but are straightforward if you are serious about making change.

Not Just For Small Businesses – Where the book is written by a small business consultant and geared to small businesses, the first half of the book offers guidance that can be used by anyone personally.

I’m So Vain – In the introduction of the book, Moltz poses the question as to why small businesses hire him to help them make change, yet they don’t do it. I can relate to this remark as I had hired him as a coach back in the day for my own small business. Where I knew I posed a challenge to him as to where to begin to work with me, he successfully helped me develop a new product offering for my business. I only worked with him for a short time – it was me, as I didn’t have sufficient cash flow (or so it seemed) and though he wanted to make things work for me, I cut off the working relationship. I can only speculate how things may have been better with my business if we continued, but I certainly count myself as one of the reasons for why he wrote this book.

ChangeMasters is an enjoyable read and structured in a way where you can identify areas for change with examples and tactics to execute on making change. Where I opined earlier the first half of the book is really geared towards everyone, the second half gets into specific areas that may be a challenge for any business, including customer service, sales and marketing and managing money. I highly recommend this book to any small business owner – even if they believe they are constantly changing as needed, it will then serve as an affirmation to their efforts. But in all reality there is something we can all do better and this book is here to help.

As I give away all books I read, this one was passed along to a small business owner I know. Where we have had many conversations about be in business for yourself and I believe they are on top of things, there’s always room for improvement, and hopefully this book will help. I did however capture the 20-step Change Worksheet for my own personal use in the near future.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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