By Hayley Robins, Senior Accountant at Hive Business

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said change is the only constant in life. It’s hard to argue with this idea on an abstract level. Accepting it on a practical level, in everyday life, on the other hand, is a radical position to take.

Not long ago, after spending years managing an accountancy team, I realised I had been attempting the impossible: to create and preside over an environment that did not change. Static was my idea of success.

I’d focus on balancing resources against hitting revenue and profitability targets, while trying to keep clients and team members happy. All of which does sound appropriate for a senior accountant.

Only there was always a sense of trying to ‘get there’ but never quite making it. I’d be striving for perfection when a team member would suddenly leave or something else would break, or maybe a client would complain.

I’d take this personally, as if I’d failed and wasn’t ‘getting anywhere’. Today I know that feeling attached to a desired fixed endpoint can be counterproductive. This insight came after watching a video of Simon Sinek talking about the ‘infinite game’.

I realised I’d been behaving like the leaders Sinek describes who don’t know the game they’re in. This is most business leaders and, by dint of that fact, all the people who work under them. They all assume they’re in a finite game, one with fixed goals and agreed measures of success.

For me that measure was being static. There’s nothing wrong with stability, but prioritising it over everything else in a world in which change is inevitable wasn’t helpful. This change in perception has motivated me to get involved and play the game, even when it looks messy, instead of seeking perfection all the time.

I think I have a new sense of appreciation for the fact that if things are good for a while, they will change — they must. In accountancy, for example, AI technology has automated some services and it’s going to take over a great deal more. Some people haven’t accepted that an accountant delivering only compliance based services is going to be in trouble soon unless they change because that element is inevitably going to be automated.

It’s similar in dentistry, another industry in which many people enjoy a comfortable life. Change is coming and the thing is to accept that. The corporates are buying up the market and goodwill prices are as high as ever. Will that remain the case next year? Cosmetic dentistry and facial aesthetic are booming. What happens if a slick franchise opens near your practice?

As Sinek says, it takes courage to play with the infinite mindset. People and businesses are pushed daily by outside forces and internal incentive structures to stay in the finite mindset, often at the expense of the health of the organisation itself. How do you get out of this trap? Do your own thing. Embrace change. Forget perfect.

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