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

Eurogrip Tyres, the leading tyre manufacturer in India, showcased its premium two-wheeler tyres at the 17th edition of Feria 2 Ruedas (F2R) International Motorcycle exhibition held at Plaza Mayor, Medellin, Colombia. The dates of this high-profile business event in South America's two-wheeler sector are 15–18 May 2025.

For more than 17 years, the Feria de las 2 Ruedas (F2R) has been the leading motorcycle industry event in Latin America. The expo, which takes place every year in Medellín, Colombia, is a vibrant venue for commerce, innovation and growth in the motorcycling sector. Additionally, it gives aficionados the chance to investigate the most recent developments and trends in the industry. The company showcased its premium lineup at exhibit N24 in the Tented Pavillion, which included a range of sport touring, off-road and trail tyres. High-performance versions including the Roadhound, Protorq Extreme, Trailhound STR, Climber, Bee Connect, Terrabite DB+ and Badhshah LX were on display.

P Madhavan, Executive Vice-President – Marketing & Sales, TVS Srichakra Ltd, said, “Eurogrip is focused to deliver innovative products for the global markets. Latin America is a priority market for us, and F2R Expo is a promising platform to engage with our target audience. We are looking forward to interesting business opportunities arising from this expo. Such specialised industry tradeshows add exceptional value to our quest in becoming a leading global tyre brand delivering world class tyre technology.”

Denka Company Limited announced it would record an extraordinary loss of approximately 16.1 billion yen (£85.8 million) as an impairment on manufacturing facilities at its US subsidiary. It will indefinitely suspend chloroprene rubber production at the Louisiana plant.

The Japanese chemical manufacturer, which holds a 70 percent stake in Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (DPE), cited mounting operational challenges, including unexpectedly high costs for pollution control equipment and declining production volumes at the American facility.

“DPE has faced significant cost, production and other challenges at its facility in the United States,” the company said in a statement. “Rising costs are attributable to, among other factors, identification, design, purchase, installation, and operation of pollution control equipment to reduce chloroprene emissions that DPE did not anticipate being required when it acquired the facility from E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company.”

The subsidiary was established in December 2014 and acquired the chloroprene rubber business from DuPont in November 2015. The Louisiana facility was intended to serve as a second manufacturing site in North America, complementing Denka’s Omi Plant in Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan.

However, according to the company statement, DPE has struggled with multiple operational issues, including “rising energy costs and a shortage of qualified staff necessary to operate new pollution control equipment and implement other emission reduction measures. “

Production volumes have declined partly due to “operational restrictions arising from the pollution reduction measures and unscheduled plant outages associated with supply chain disruptions and severe weather events,” Denka said.

The company noted that these challenges, combined with changes in the global economic environment for chloroprene rubber, have pressured profitability, making near-term improvement difficult.

Denka confirmed that DPE employs 250 people as of December 2024 and will not restart its chloroprene rubber manufacturing facilities following a regular maintenance shutdown. Instead, “all options for the business, including a potential sale of the business or its assets, will be considered,” the statement said.

The company emphasised that “no decision regarding a permanent closure of the facility has been made at this time.”

Customers will continue to be supplied from current inventories and production at the company’s Omi Plant in Japan.

DPE is 70 percent owned by Denka USA LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Denka Company Limited, and 30 percent by Diana Elastomers, Inc., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Yokohama Rubber reported a 56.9 percent year-on-year decline in profit attributable to owners for the first quarter of 2025, despite posting a 9.0 percent increase in sales revenue.

The Japanese tyre maker recorded a profit of 8.53 billion yen for the three months ended 31 March, down from 19.8 billion yen in the same period last year. Business profit fell 3.2 percent to 24.07 billion yen, while sales revenue rose to 275.12 billion yen.

The company maintained its full-year forecast, projecting an 11.4 percent increase in sales revenue to 1.22 trillion yen and an 8.8 percent rise in profit to 81.5 billion yen for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2025.

Yokohama Rubber attributed the profit decline to one-time costs related to its February acquisition of Goodyear’s off-the-road (OTR) tyre business, which it purchased for approximately 143 billion yen.

“Profit from existing businesses was strong,” the company said in its earnings statement. “In addition to increased sales volume for the company’s consumer tyres, mainly in overseas markets, and continued expansion of sales of high-value-added ADVAN, GEOLANDAR, and Winter tyres as well as high-inch tyres, profit was boosted by the MB segment’s MIX improvements and structural reforms.”

The tyre segment, which accounts for 91percent of the group’s consolidated sales revenue, saw a 10.4 percent increase in sales to 250.32 billion yen. Original equipment tyre sales were higher year-on-year, driven by “strong sales in Japan of vehicle models equipped with YOKOHAMA tyres and expansion of shipments for Chinese automakers’ new energy vehicles,” the company said.

Replacement tyre sales also increased, supported by higher sales of summer and winter tyres in Japan, increased sales of high-inch tyres in Europe, and stepped-up sales efforts in Asia.

The MB (Multiple Businesses) segment, which represents 8.4 percent of total sales, experienced a 3.2 percent revenue decline to 23.02 billion yen. This was attributed to lower demand from construction machinery makers in Japan and automakers in North America.

The company described an “upbeat” business sentiment in Japan for the quarter, noting that “a steady recovery in inbound demand and increasing orders for construction and logistics projects compensated for weak consumption by domestic households curbing spending in response to rising prices of consumer goods.”

Overseas, the company observed rising inflation concerns weighing on consumer spending in the United States, while in Europe, “manufacturing industries are rebounding and corporate business sentiment is improving.” In China, personal consumption was boosted by the Spring Festival holiday, but high US tariffs “reduced China’s exports and created uncertainty about the future that is weakening industrial activity.”

Swedish speciality chemicals firm Nynas reported solid financial results for 2024, posting an Adjusted EBITDA of 1,333 million Swedish kronor, marginally higher than the 1,316 million kronor recorded in 2023.

The company, which specialises in naphthenic speciality oils and bitumen products, attributed its performance to operational efficiency and commercial success in its niche markets.

“We are delighted with the progress made during 2024, evidencing our right-sized cost base and a more targeted commercial and manufacturing footprint. We have redefined our strategic direction, positioning Nynas as a speciality chemicals company, enabling the energy transition and setting our course for 2035,” Nynas CEO Eric Gosse said in a statement.

The firm highlighted strong cash generation from operations, which it said would support planned investments and longer-term growth initiatives. Nynas also mentioned the ongoing transformation of its Harburg site with plans to monetise the asset eventually.

All three of the company’s production facilities maintained high operational reliability between 95 percent and 99 percent. The Nynäshamn refinery achieved a notable milestone: in May 2024, it set a new monthly production record for naphthenic speciality oils at 42,000 tonnes.

Strategic pivot towards sustainability

Nynas outlined a strategic shift focused on higher-margin speciality materials with sustainable characteristics. The company aims to strengthen its position in European markets through innovation and sustainability initiatives.

“Nynas is uniquely positioned to contribute to the energy transition. Our strategy reflects our purpose to advance a more sustainable society, and our product development pipeline is fully aligned with this goal," Gosse added.

In 2024, the company received an EcoVadis Gold rating, placing it in the top 5 percent of globally rated businesses for sustainability performance.

With consecutive years of strong financial performance, Nynas indicated it continues to monitor debt capital markets to optimise its capital structure “at the appropriate time potentially”.

The Swedish chemicals producer noted that, having ceased operations in the United States in 2022, it remains largely insulated from recent global trade tensions surrounding US import tariffs. The company imports only minimal feedstock from America, shielding it from potential cross-border trade disputes.