Change and impermanency is the common denominator of all phenomena and processes in nature, which include human activities as well. Heraclitus, the 5^th Century BC Greek philosopher, has said that no man can step into the same river twice. This statement from Heraclitus means that the world constantly changes and that no two situations are exactly the same. Just as water flows in a river, one cannot touch the exact same water twice when one steps into a river. This view has been affirmed by Lord Buddha around the same period.

In fact, the challenge of change can be considered as the key driver in all the human endeavours across history and the main motivating factor of business strategies that have evolved through the four industrial revolutions spanning form the mid-18^th century to the present day of mass digitalisation. The four principles of change management at any level – be it personal, family, workplace, company or a country – are:

• Understand the change
• Plan the change
• Implement the change
• Communicate the change

Some of the significant contributors to the management of change which resulted in the emergence of new approaches and working models that became popular during the past 50 years can be enumerated as:

• Lewin’s Change Management Model
• McKinsey 7S Model.
• Kotler’s Change Management Theory
• Nudge Theory
• ADKAR Theory
• Bridge’s Transition Model
• Kubler-Ross Five Stage Model

There are many schools of thought around managing organisational change, but there's one thing that's clear. Change managers need to structure their organisational changes and need to avoid 'ad hoc' change management. They need to look at organisational change from a programmatic perspective, leverage subject matter experts around the impacts of change and look at the ‘change beyond the change’. 

Corporate change has always been associated with leadership, and Jack Welch, the master of transformational leadership, has once quoted that “good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

Notwithstanding the tremendous utility value of these approaches, I have witnessed the beginning, growth, decline and final exit of some great business empires in Sri Lanka, which could not survive up to the third generation. Similarly, there are exemplary business organisations, the roots of which can be traced back in history to a single person who started with a few rupees and later developed in to corporate giants that are thriving through the third generation. It is therefore apparent that there are no hard and fast norms or standard ground rules, but an emerging factor is the importance of the people at all levels, despite the benefits of automation and digitalisation. Success and failure episodes are abundant throughout the world and corporate graveyards are cluttered with casualties.

Change and business strategy are always closely interlinked without clear boundaries. The ‘Art of War’ – which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (around 5^th century BC) – remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare and has influenced both Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy, lifestyles and beyond.

The Covid-19 outbreak, which started around two years ago and developed in to a devastating pandemic, has brought about years of change in the way companies in all sectors and regions do business. The entire world scenario which we currently witness is reminiscent of the opening paragraph of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, an 1859 historical novel by Charles Dickens.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
 

The Coronavirus has rapidly made ‘business as usual’ a phrase from the distant past. There is no ‘usual’ in this uncertain time. But organisations that outmanoeuvre uncertainty create a resilience they can count on, irrespective of the changes that come

. We’ve all changed the way we operate during the Covid-19 crisis. Some changes were forced on us, while others represent the height of innovation in a crisis. There’s been a reset of the workforce and work itself, a reset of the employer/employee relationship and a reset of the business ecosystem. For most of them, the business impact of the pandemic has been negative; for some, positive. 

The pandemic may have wiped our strategy slate clean (or at least it feels that way), but we have also garnered invaluable experience. Now it’s time to bring together our executive team and use those lessons to reconfigure the business and operating models for a new reality. It appears that in addition to the conventional 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle), with respect to resource consumption and sustainability, a set of new 3Rs, namely respond, recover and renew, has emerged during the Covid-19 crisis.

As we shift from response to recovery, the key for senior leaders is to make strategic decisions that will lead them to a renewed future state, however paralysing the uncertain outlook may seem. We can borrow a leaf from the strategy and tactics of the Covid-19 virus itself in learning how to adapt for survival by adopting new paradigms, namely producing more virulent strains such as the Delta variety.

In the absence of a 100 percent effective vaccine or cure for Covid-19, any rebound in business activity could easily be followed by another round of response, recover, renew; so the imperative is to absorb lessons learned quickly and build sustainable changes into business and operating models.

But first, we need to determine exactly where and how the crisis has stretched and broken our existing models, and where the risks and opportunities lie as a result. When talking about risks and opportunities, I cannot help going back to the basics of ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) requirements which expect a company to evaluate the external and internal issues (Clause 4.1), expectations of interested parties (4.2), determining the risks and opportunities (6.1) and planning for change (6.2). In some of the companies that I happen to audit, the priority given to these is at a minimum or no priority given at all apart from stagnant records which do not show any objective evidence of monitoring and review.

However, one important factor we have to consider is that everyone – irrespective of whether it is an individual, family unit, organisation or a country – is on various stages of their unique learning curves, and the strategic horizons have drastically become shorter. Business and strategy planning is no longer an elite task shrouded with mystery and confined to the corporate managers only in their air conditioned rooms but a task to be accomplished in consultation with those who are finally going to implement the strategies and plans. While the Japanese Genba (the actual place) approach is more than 50 years old, it is mostly confined to operational levels, which is rather unfortunate. This crisis has created an opportunity to reset some of our goals and ambitions; it’s time to ask: “As we recover from this crisis, do we want to be different, and if so, how?”

One can see that many companies are in the recovery mode at the moment and trying to do damage control based on profit motive, which is understandable. The entire social, cultural and ethical models and paradigms have changed drastically, and the entrepreneurs need to realise that they are no longer operating in the pre-Covid era. Drastic changes have occurred in the entire supply and value chains with changing customer preferences.

The following quote attributed to many, including Eleanor Roosevelt, a former First Lady of United States, is appropriate to be cited here:

“There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened.” 

Change and impermanency is a fact of life, more so today, and if we do not change, change will change us. After all, it was the mathematical genius of the 20^th Century, Albert Einstein, who once observed that:

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

We can’t keep doing the same thing every day and expect different results. In other words, we can’t keep doing the same workout routine and expect to look differently. In order for our life to change, we must change – to the degree that we change our actions and our thinking, to the degree that our life will change.

The author a Management Counselor from Sri Lanka

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Making a powerful debut at the 2025 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Doublestar Tire captivated the global automotive industry with a display of innovative products. This premier event for customisation and accessories, which attracts top enterprises and professionals from over 130 countries, served as the ideal platform for the company to demonstrate Chinese manufacturing and technological advancement. Doublestar’s booth, emphasising high performance and green technology, became a central hub for visiting partners and industry experts.

The company’s strategy was precisely tailored to the specific demands of the American market, focusing on tyres for popular pickup trucks and SUVs used for long-distance highway travel. Key products included the Wildpuma AT10, noted for its exceptional wet grip and stable handling, and the durable, wear-resistant TBR tyre DLS918, designed for extended mileage. The vibrant on-site response saw numerous clients expressing strong collaborative interest, with Doublestar affirming its commitment to deepening its market presence in the United States.

Beyond simply meeting existing market needs, this successful appearance at SEMA proved Doublestar’s advanced capability to proactively identify and co-develop products that create new customer demand. The event ultimately served as a definitive demonstration of the brand's strength and its readiness to compete directly with leading international tire manufacturers on the global stage.

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German tyre major Continental Tires has inaugurated a new Continental Premium Drive (CPD) dealership in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The new outlet, operated by Tyre Tune Up, strengthens Continental’s retail presence in central India.

The new CPD store, spread across 3,000 sqft, is located in Mechanic Nagar, Indore. It is designed as a one-stop destination offering Continental’s premium tyre portfolio alongside advanced services such as computerised wheel alignment, precision wheel balancing, nitrogen inflation and premium alloy wheels.

Indore was chosen for its status as a commercial and cultural hub with an expanding vehicle base, aligning with Continental’s expansion strategy. Tyre Tune Up has been a part of Indore’s automotive journey since 1956.

Samir Gupta, Managing Director, Continental Tires India, said, “With this new CPD store in Indore, we are bringing Continental’s promise of safety, innovation, and driving comfort closer to customers in Madhya Pradesh. India is a key growth market for us, and through our ‘In the Market, For the Market’ approach, we continue to expand our retail network and strengthen customer connections across the country.”

Rafique Khan, Owner of Tyre Tune Up, said, “Tyre Tune Up has been a part of Indore’s automotive journey since 1956, and our partnership with Continental allows us to deliver global standards of quality locally. This CPD outlet will not only provide premium products but also ensure a seamless service experience that our customers have come to expect over the decades.”

Continental recently announced a strategic investment of approximately INR 1 billion in India to strengthen and expand its Passenger and Light Trucks business in the country.

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Steelastic LLC, part of the HEICO Companies, has officially announced a new strategic partnership with PT Pelita Esa for Indonesia. In this capacity, the company has welcomed Evan Soerjaatmadja as its official agent for the region.

With over 15 years of experience in the tyre industry, Soerjaatmadja is a respected professional known for his work with PT Pelita Esa Wanua and his representation of Bartell, a member of the HEICO Group. He will now collaborate closely with Hemant Agrawal, Steelastic’s Business Development Manager, to bolster customer support and strengthen the company's market presence throughout South Asia. Steelastic anticipates that this partnership will yield substantial new opportunities for its customer base.

The company statement read: “Going forward, Soerjaatmadja will work closely with Hemant Agrawal, Steelastic’s Business Development Manager, to enhance customer support and strengthen Steelastic’s presence across South Asia. We look forward to this partnership and the new opportunities it will create for our valued customers.”

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The Sailun Ice Blazer Alpine 2 tyre in size 205/55 R16 94H XL has proven itself a formidable competitor in the winter tyre market, as confirmed by rigorous independent testing from TÜV SÜD. The examination, which pitted the Sailun tyre against four rival European products across 12 different disciplines, resulted in the tyre being awarded an official seal of approval. This prestigious endorsement officially validates the tyre's strong safety characteristics on wet and dry roads, its low rolling resistance and its quiet operation, with a measured rolling noise of just 69 dB(A).

Performance in key comparative tests was particularly strong, with the Ice Blazer Alpine 2 achieving top-tier results in acceleration, braking and handling on snow, plus braking on both wet and dry roads. This makes it an excellent all-around choice for the common driver seeking a modern, high-performance winter tyre. It delivers essential safety features including reliable grip and precise control on snow and ice, alongside superb braking on wet surfaces and commendable resistance to aquaplaning. Furthermore, it maintains excellent fuel efficiency.

These capabilities are derived from its advanced technical design. An innovative tread pattern and a specialised high-silica winter compound ensure the rubber remains pliable and effective in cold temperatures. The tread features a variably angled ice-gripping pattern at its centre for superior traction on ice and snow, while numerous closely spaced grooves in the shoulder blocks interlock with snow for enhanced control on snow-covered roads. For wet conditions, a directional HydraFlow pattern efficiently channels water away from the tread, promoting strong wet grip. The overall combination of narrower grooves and robust rubber blocks also provides consistent and responsive handling in variable winter weather. Finally, the use of a durable, wear-resistant rubber compound strikes an optimal balance between extended tread life and energy efficiency.

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