China Sourcing and the Agent of Change

I was thinking about my job and what it really represents. It struck me that sourcing products and services in China is all about change and I am really a change agent. I guess that is why I only deal with top executives as change is too difficult to power up from the bottom. Powering change from the top down is where change is most likely to occur. And change seems like such a natural process, but I know from personal experience that it can be painful. So I Googled “Change Agent” and found a wonderful Blog by Bill Taylor of the Harvard Business Review. (The 10 Questions Every Change Agent Must Answer) “Indeed, when it comes to creating the future, the only thing more worrisome than the prospect of too much change may be too little change.” – Bill Taylor-HBR

I can speak from personal experience that China is all about change and creating a new future. It is breathtaking. And the winds of change in China are contagious. Well, as I fancy myself as a change agent, Bill Taylor’s blog is challenging me. What I hear him saying is that wise people are always looking for and embracing change. In that way, because change is inevitable, it can be strategic and painless, as long as it is part of your plan. What am I doing to change my business prospective?

Here is what I have decided to do to initiate change and become a little wiser. We have been sourcing products and services in China for almost 10 years. Most of what we do ends up as goods coming from China to the US market. China is now the 2nd largest economy in the world and I think it is time to develop a liaison service that helps our customers introduce their products to the burgeoning Chinese domestic markets. So this fall I will travel to China to start developing relationships that will allow us to offer the Chinese domestic market to my present and future clients. This is what I intend to do that represents purpose driven change in my company. How about you and your company?

Tell me what will you do to create purpose driven change in your company or life in 2010/2011?

BTW: Here are Bill Taylor’s 10 questions.

1. Do you see opportunities the competition doesn’t see?
2. Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas?
3. Are you the most of anything?
4. If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why?
5. Have you figured out how your organization’s history can help to shape its future?
6. Can your customers live without you?
7. Do you treat different customers differently?
8. Are you getting the best contributions from the most people?
9. Are you consistent in your commitment to change?
10. Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?

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