Do you believe that the only constant is change? In a high-speed world, leaders need to be willing to change, and change quickly. You need to identify the need to change, own the change, and then make the change. You must also have the courage to see it through. Change brings progress, but it also brings greater competition. Competition ultimately makes you better. It’s like medicine, even if we don’t want to take it.

Change intrigues as well as intimidates. It puts pressure on the status quo. Trying to keep things the same won’t work because you’ll fall behind. Change brings out the best, and the worst, in people. Change isn’t easy. It can’t be made without inconvenience — even heartache at times. Over time, circumstances change. What worked yesterday may not work today and likely won’t work tomorrow.

The late Bill Walsh, former head football coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and winner of three Super Bowls, wrote an insightful Forbes editorial on change years ago. In it, he referred to Steve Jobs, Apple founder and then-head of start-up company Next Computer. Jobs said that one of the natural tendencies of a leader is to try to replicate an approach that had worked well in the past. But in a world of rapid change, this may be disastrous. As Walsh put it, “No situation is ever the same as the one before, especially in a world where the only consistent factor is change.”

A similar challenge occurs when we leave one corporate culture and try to impose our past success strategy on a new one. Times change and cultures are unique. While no leader should depart from the attributes that brought success originally, it is vital to assess the new arena and to flex with the times and the situation. What worked in a large traditional institution may not work in a small, start-up technology company, and vice versa.

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