Make Change Work for You

You’re at a meeting with an important client, but he is no longer happy with your product and wants to cancel your contract immediately. What do you do? Panic and beg him not to drop you? Or resign yourself to the loss of business?

You could do neither. Rather than letting your emotions dictate your actions, you can instead approach problems rationally by using the FEAR method: Focus, Engage, Assess and React.

Start by focusing on your problem, studying it closely before engaging and taking appropriate action.

Ask yourself: How threatening is this problem really? And does anyone on your team already have experience of solving a similar problem?

Is it possible to find a way to improve your product or service according to the client’s wishes? Or might it be better to simply drop this client and search for new ones? If this has happened before, how did you resolve the situation?

After you have made sufficient preparations, it’s time to develop an action plan. Analyze which resources you’ll need, and what steps you must take to reach your goal. This could mean, for example, developing new technologies for your client which no other provider can offer.

Once you’ve begun implementing your action plan don’t forget to assess outcomes and react accordingly. Always analyze the results of your plan. Are they satisfactory? If not, what are the underlying problems, and what can you learn from your mistakes?

If your plan has delighted your customer, that’s great. But if not, what else do you need to do to stop him from searching for a new service provider?

Once you’ve assessed your plan’s weaknesses, it’s time to tweak your plan until you’ve solved the problem.

By differentiating opportunities and risks, the FEAR model provides you with a good opportunity to assess emotional situations objectively and produce the best outcome.