Reaction to Change
Give me Cigarettes and Give Me Death!
In Paris, France, on boulevard St-Germain is a statue of Danton, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution, his right arm outstretched in one of his famous orations. If you follow his gaze and where his right hand is pointing, you’ll find…a Starbucks. That’s right, within 100 meters of this statue in Paris, France is Starbucks Odéon, one of at least 9 Starbucks locations in Paris.
When Starbucks opened their first location in January 2004, I remember reading interviews with Parisians. One typical response was, “Why would I go somewhere to have coffee when I cannot smoke?” For many Parisians (32% of adults are smokers) the concept was absolutely foreign.
The other night when I visited the Starbucks Odéon the evidence would say that change has come to stay in Paris. With two floors and not an empty seat in the house, the place was packed!
Last year when my wife, Lynn and I visited Dublin, the whole city had gone smoke-free. What a great experience! We could go to a pub, have a pint or two of Guinness and never have to think about second-hand smoke. Eventually, it seems even Paris may go the way of smoke-free. Sacre Blu!
Change comes. It is as inevitable as the tides, even in countries as tied to their traditions as France. Everything is constantly in a state of flux. Change is the natural state of all things. As we’ve discussed in the last few blogs, it seems that the rate of change is picking up and we in turn must learn to be life-long learners in order to keep up.
In this blog we will look at three ways that most people react to change:
• Resistance
• Neutral
• Supportive
We’re going to start by looking at your own personal reaction to change. Then, we’ll examine the topic of what you can do as a change agent during times of transformation to help each type of person.
Your Personal Reaction to Change
Think about your personal reaction to change. If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that you are an agent of change, therefore naturally supportive of change initiatives. But that does not mean that you always find yourself in the role of being supportive of change. If truth be told you might switch from supporter to neutral to resistor and back to supporter in a matter of minutes. So, what do I do if I find myself being a resistor?
First of all, give up the right to judge yourself. Organizations need all three types of people – supportive, neutral and resistors. Each is equally valuable as long as their positions are well thought-out and based on reason.
Resistors
Being a resistor is not necessarily negative. I mean, after all, I am writing today from France, home of the French Resistance movement during World War II. The French resistance movement was key to toppling the Nazi domination of Europe.
Sometimes it is a fact that “the Emperor has no clothes,” and someone has to say so. Therefore, you might find yourself honestly disagreeing with proposed change. A room full of “yes-people” does not really serve the interest of the company does it? So, it can be good to resist inappropriate change.
Supportive
Supporters are usually the early adopters – those who feel naturally at ease with change. You probably find yourself in this category most often. As I talk to change agents, these risk-prone people would be the first to admit that they need the neutral and the resistors to balance them – to keep them in check.
Neutral
Finally, there is often wisdom to wait just a beat before gladly adopting change. These are the neutral people. As a neutral person, you will not resist change simply on principle, but you will not support change just because some says so. Therefore, it’s sometimes wise to take a neutral position.
So, if you find yourself in any of these three positions, you might want to simply observe your position then say “My, isn’t that interesting?” in a non-judgmental way. Ask yourself if you have a reason for taking the position you have and then be willing to change should you find evidence to support such a move.
Now, let’s look at each of the three types of people from the perspective of the Change Agent. How can we best support and assist each type of person during times of transition?
In Paris, France, on boulevard St-Germain is a statue of Danton, one of the leading figures of the French Revolution, his right arm outstretched in one of his famous orations. If you follow his gaze and where his right hand is pointing, you’ll find…a Starbucks. That’s right, within 100 meters of this statue in Paris, France is Starbucks Odéon, one of at least 9 Starbucks locations in Paris.
When Starbucks opened their first location in January 2004, I remember reading interviews with Parisians. One typical response was, “Why would I go somewhere to have coffee when I cannot smoke?” For many Parisians (32% of adults are smokers) the concept was absolutely foreign.
The other night when I visited the Starbucks Odéon the evidence would say that change has come to stay in Paris. With two floors and not an empty seat in the house, the place was packed!
Last year when my wife, Lynn and I visited Dublin, the whole city had gone smoke-free. What a great experience! We could go to a pub, have a pint or two of Guinness and never have to think about second-hand smoke. Eventually, it seems even Paris may go the way of smoke-free. Sacre Blu!
Change comes. It is as inevitable as the tides, even in countries as tied to their traditions as France. Everything is constantly in a state of flux. Change is the natural state of all things. As we’ve discussed in the last few blogs, it seems that the rate of change is picking up and we in turn must learn to be life-long learners in order to keep up.
In this blog we will look at three ways that most people react to change:
• Resistance
• Neutral
• Supportive
We’re going to start by looking at your own personal reaction to change. Then, we’ll examine the topic of what you can do as a change agent during times of transformation to help each type of person.
Your Personal Reaction to Change
Think about your personal reaction to change. If you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that you are an agent of change, therefore naturally supportive of change initiatives. But that does not mean that you always find yourself in the role of being supportive of change. If truth be told you might switch from supporter to neutral to resistor and back to supporter in a matter of minutes. So, what do I do if I find myself being a resistor?
First of all, give up the right to judge yourself. Organizations need all three types of people – supportive, neutral and resistors. Each is equally valuable as long as their positions are well thought-out and based on reason.
Resistors
Being a resistor is not necessarily negative. I mean, after all, I am writing today from France, home of the French Resistance movement during World War II. The French resistance movement was key to toppling the Nazi domination of Europe.
Sometimes it is a fact that “the Emperor has no clothes,” and someone has to say so. Therefore, you might find yourself honestly disagreeing with proposed change. A room full of “yes-people” does not really serve the interest of the company does it? So, it can be good to resist inappropriate change.
Supportive
Supporters are usually the early adopters – those who feel naturally at ease with change. You probably find yourself in this category most often. As I talk to change agents, these risk-prone people would be the first to admit that they need the neutral and the resistors to balance them – to keep them in check.
Neutral
Finally, there is often wisdom to wait just a beat before gladly adopting change. These are the neutral people. As a neutral person, you will not resist change simply on principle, but you will not support change just because some says so. Therefore, it’s sometimes wise to take a neutral position.
So, if you find yourself in any of these three positions, you might want to simply observe your position then say “My, isn’t that interesting?” in a non-judgmental way. Ask yourself if you have a reason for taking the position you have and then be willing to change should you find evidence to support such a move.
Now, let’s look at each of the three types of people from the perspective of the Change Agent. How can we best support and assist each type of person during times of transition?
Viva la Resistance!
I resist change even as I call for it.
- Mason Cooley, City Aphorisms, Fourteenth Selection, New York (1994).
Why would anyone bother to resist change? Change is inevitable, isn’t it? It seems not. Often the reason that people behave in a particular way, for example resisting change, is because of past rewards. Sometimes resistance works! Resistors resist for many reasons, but one of the main reasons people often resist is because they think they will eventually win. They think this latest change effort is the “flavor of the month” and will eventually go away.
Look back at your company’s history. Can you recall a time when pronouncements were made, themes were decided on, posters were printed and then the “new way” went away? This is not uncommon. Many change efforts die from lack of follow-through and resistors have been trained to keep their heads low and their mouths shut and just wait for the “new” way to fall back to the old way.
The second reason that someone may resist change is that they actually have a genuine, heart-felt disagreement with where the company is heading. These folks tend to be pragmatic and they’re waiting for someone to explain to them the practical benefit of the proposed change.
What is the best strategy for resistors when implementing change? Only give them 15% of your energy. And what do you do with this energy? Offer them a personal benefit to change. After all, if we learn to resist change because of previous reinforcement, we can also learn to adopt change because there is a reward in it for us.
Put It In Neutral
The next category is the “neutral” crowd. This is where you need to focus 70% of your energy. Election strategist know that in the primary elections you need to appeal to your base (the “supportive” group), but to win the general election you must win the neutral crowd, better known as the swing vote.
Think of it this way. You don’t have to win the “supporting” crowd. They already support you. Don’t waste too much of your time and effort with the resistors. They have already taken a stand. It is the Neutral crowd where you need to spend most of your time and effort.
The best way to win the swing vote is by convincing them of the clear and compelling case for change. They want to be sold, but they’re not going to support change without first understanding why.
Thank You for Your Support
Finally there is the supportive crowd. You cannot ignore them, so save about 15% of your energy for rewarding and reinforcing your supporters. Savvy marketers know that they need to spend time and money reinforcing the buying decision after the sale. The same should be said of smart change agents. We spend time reinforcing the decision to support the change, helping the supporters to feel smart for having supported us in the first place.
Next Time
In the next blog we will look at all of the building blocks for moving people from resistance to neutral to supportive. I call it “C-Level Thinking.”
I resist change even as I call for it.
- Mason Cooley, City Aphorisms, Fourteenth Selection, New York (1994).
Why would anyone bother to resist change? Change is inevitable, isn’t it? It seems not. Often the reason that people behave in a particular way, for example resisting change, is because of past rewards. Sometimes resistance works! Resistors resist for many reasons, but one of the main reasons people often resist is because they think they will eventually win. They think this latest change effort is the “flavor of the month” and will eventually go away.
Look back at your company’s history. Can you recall a time when pronouncements were made, themes were decided on, posters were printed and then the “new way” went away? This is not uncommon. Many change efforts die from lack of follow-through and resistors have been trained to keep their heads low and their mouths shut and just wait for the “new” way to fall back to the old way.
The second reason that someone may resist change is that they actually have a genuine, heart-felt disagreement with where the company is heading. These folks tend to be pragmatic and they’re waiting for someone to explain to them the practical benefit of the proposed change.
What is the best strategy for resistors when implementing change? Only give them 15% of your energy. And what do you do with this energy? Offer them a personal benefit to change. After all, if we learn to resist change because of previous reinforcement, we can also learn to adopt change because there is a reward in it for us.
Put It In Neutral
The next category is the “neutral” crowd. This is where you need to focus 70% of your energy. Election strategist know that in the primary elections you need to appeal to your base (the “supportive” group), but to win the general election you must win the neutral crowd, better known as the swing vote.
Think of it this way. You don’t have to win the “supporting” crowd. They already support you. Don’t waste too much of your time and effort with the resistors. They have already taken a stand. It is the Neutral crowd where you need to spend most of your time and effort.
The best way to win the swing vote is by convincing them of the clear and compelling case for change. They want to be sold, but they’re not going to support change without first understanding why.
Thank You for Your Support
Finally there is the supportive crowd. You cannot ignore them, so save about 15% of your energy for rewarding and reinforcing your supporters. Savvy marketers know that they need to spend time and money reinforcing the buying decision after the sale. The same should be said of smart change agents. We spend time reinforcing the decision to support the change, helping the supporters to feel smart for having supported us in the first place.
Next Time
In the next blog we will look at all of the building blocks for moving people from resistance to neutral to supportive. I call it “C-Level Thinking.”
posted by RFD Blog at 5:17 PM
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