Change Is Inevitable

If a company is going to stay in business, it has to change, and that can be scary. A Navy aviator once told me that many pilots have died because they stayed with their disabled aircraft too long. They preferred the familiarity of the cockpit to the unfamiliarity of the parachute, even though the cockpit had become a death trap and the parachute had become a ticket to life.

Many businesses have died because their people preferred the familiar but deadly old ways to the risky but rewarding new ways. The secret to successful change is to make it controlled change. If the change is well-planned and under control, the people affected will have a sense of stability amid change, and that can be reassuring.

One of the most important things you can do is to explain the reasons for the change. Change is easier to take when people can see a rationale behind it. Another way of easing anxiety is to show how advance planning minimizes risks. Let people know what to expect, step by step. No surprises, no alarm.

Planned changes usually move through three stages: softening, reshaping and restabilizing. During the softening stage, employees have to unlearn old habits. During the reshaping phase, new ways must be implanted. During restabilization, these new ways must become new habits.

You can smooth the way toward change through pilot projects that enable employees to go through trial runs before “going live.” You can also find people who are familiar with the new ways and let them model them for the rest of your people.

I’ve learned, through consulting with companies implementing change, that the job is never finished. Successful companies look for ways to institutionalize change. When a company’s people are oriented to change and educated in effective ways to bring it about, it’s geared up for the future.