No matter what industry you are in, change is inevitable. Sometimes change is needed to be competitive due to technology, competition, and market fluctuation. It really doesn’t matter what the change is as long as you are prepared for the future method of doing business.

I know from experience that if you don’t make your adjustments it can be damaging to the success of your business. For over 25 years I owned a chain of retail electronic stores and the business model changed yearly. We would be proactive in making changes to our business model; the way our salespeople sold, customer service, inventory control, type of locations needed. But the most important thing that I learned is the research I received from my employees on the front lines.

Every week I would have a meeting with my sales staff,  managers and customer service staff.  I would listen closely to feedback regarding what competition was doing, clients are asking about, products that work and don’t work. The bottom line is that your best source for keeping up with changing times is to listen to your clients and employees. They see the changes first hand. Being a true leader is to know how to strategize, mentor and show appreciation to those who deserve it. Never trust that the way you do business today will be the same way tomorrow, so always keep your mind, eyes and ears open. Change could be sneaking up on you right now.

Rick Kaplan is media director at the New England Real Estate Journal, Norwell, Mass.