Ignore the doom mongers, naysayers, and pesky know-it-alls.

People are wonderful. Diverse, brilliant, positive and constructive.

It is the role of the business to try and get the very best out of each member of staff.

There are always noises. Background moans and groans, some of which are natural. Others are tiresome.

When changing a business, implementing something new, a different way of thinking or a project intended to save money or drive sales it is fundamental that you do not listen to such sounds.

Challenge is constructive. Open discussions are a must. Disagreements need to be worked through. However once a decision has been scrutinised and agreed, the focus must be on delivery.

Outside of your leadership group, there will be colleagues who want to come along with you. A clear understanding of why something is changing must have been put in place before implementation.

A top down, dictatorial approach will normally end in disappointment. You want your staff to be included, be part of the change and benefit from the changes.

Over the last three decades, I have seen a steady decline in staff resistance in implementing new IT projects. The true, big beast dinosaurs who see metal mickeys taking their jobs for life away are almost gone.

However AI is bringing with it a new fear. To be fair, a lot of functions of a business will move over to AI. If you do not have a policy or understanding of where AI can assist your business, you need to.

However if your business picks things up and puts things down, the robots we have been promised for a decade are not quite ready to take control.

I think sometimes, a third party, independent consultant is better placed to deal with internal resistance and politics.

Change can be difficult for people, especially those who have remained in position for a long time. Once change is implemented, the independent consultant can move on to another project, where good leadership should take over the day to day running of a business.