It’s hard to believe that we’re already into 2016! And with that normally comes the New Year’s resolutions, the desire to ‘do things better, differently’ and to ensure we have a positive and meaningful impact in many of our activities.

But how often do we start the process of change in our personal and business lives only to find that we slowly resume the normal patterns, the ‘usual’ way of doing things, and all of a sudden the excitement and potential benefits of well-founded aspirations fall by the way side.

As responsible business managers we know that doing things differently is the very core of the world of Facilities Management. The drivers for change can be many and varied, however the successful facility, asset or property manager is generally recognised as a ‘change agent’, a person who is the ‘go to’ source to enable different outcomes in the built environment, while ensuring that people are able to effectively and efficiently achieve their objectives in how they work, live or play in those environments.

Understanding that change is an absolute given tool of the trade in our roles is integral to our success individually, in our teams and for the organisations we work with. But embracing change or having others understand the commitment to change as an instrumental tool is altogether another matter. Time and time again I see the best laid plans to ‘do things differently and better’ come unstuck because people have not devoted sufficient resources or time to use change as an ‘active’ tool.

My observations over the years demonstrate that to achieve meaningful outcomes, transforming the way we do things, they have to be planned, practised and reviewed objectively. It might not just be yourself that needs to change, but rather your team, fellow colleagues, clients, the ‘C’ suite and maybe even the Board.

With any plan to be implemented, no matter how big or small, identify the blockers and enablers to success and positively plan to manage that shift in behaviour or activities to achieve the value and outcomes you aspire and deliver. All your best efforts will be to no avail unless you embrace and harness transformational change.