Why Is Change So Difficult?
In my role at CommunicationsMatch™, I have the opportunity to chat not only with corporate communications and agency leaders, but technology entrepreneurs, startups, and job seekers. One consistent takeaway is how hard change is.
In recent months I have had a number of conversations that have reminded me that we can go from acknowledging the path we may need to take, back to justifying what we are doing virtually in the same breath.
It’s jarring, but something that is no longer a surprise. Conversations start with the need to implement a more focused strategy or targeted approach to a job search, but then flip back to spray and pray - the tried and failing path.
Change is difficult. But if we leave it at that, “difficult” becomes an excuse not to do what we need to do to take ourselves and our businesses down new and potentially far more productive paths.
A quote misattributed to Einstein is, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” That one of the smartest humans to have lived is supposed to have said this reflects the fundamental resonance of the idea.
I have written for a number of years about the simplicity principle. This is the idea that, as humans, our brains are wired to make a complex world simpler so we can process it. Making things simple means that we reduce the effort it takes to make sense of the world.
Change requires us to invest time and energy to break out of established behavioral paradigms and do something different. If we put this into a business context, it may require thinking through and writing up a new business strategy, doing research, questioning assumptions, and admitting that we may have been wrong.
The keys to taking a different direction in our businesses and careers include:
The recognition of the need to change: The desire to change is the starting point for the work that needs to be done. Without it nothing will happen. The challenge for most is the reward and work needed may not outweigh the effort required to change: “If I’m doing OK, then do I really need to do something different?” It should be no surprise that companies or people about to go bankrupt are far more likely to do something radical if there’s nothing left to lose.
The incentive for change needs to be explicit and significant: If we think about health, there are clear incentives for behavioral change, yet few of us make the changes we need to because the consequences are often down the road. In business and our careers, we need to map out the benefits of change to make them explicit. Putting a dollar value against a new strategy or being clear about other benefits are framing tools to drive change. The benefits have to be significant enough to propel us forward.
We need people we trust to help us on the change journey: For all difficult paths, walking with others is far easier than walking alone. Friends, coaches, trusted advisers or colleagues can play a key role in providing the support, confidence, and encouragement to break out of comfort zones to find success. But don’t expect those around you to volunteer their help; you must actively seek it out. Giving people permission to tell you what you don’t want to hear is essential. The ability to handle the truth as others see it is critical to getting the ongoing input we all need. Engaging a coach or participating in networks built around sharing experiences and feedback offer routes to insights, perspective, and strategies that will help you take a different direction.
Lots of small changes can add up to a new direction: Dramatic change may be an insurmountable hurdle for a host of reasons. The funds or skillsets may not be available to do a 180-degree shift in strategy or pivot to a new market. So be realistic, but don’t use this as a reason for not doing something that must be done. As with most individual behavior changes, incremental change doesn’t have to be a bet-the-ranch decision. Lots of small changes, that incorporate user-feedback over time, will add up to a new path.
When looking at our businesses or careers, we need to recognize that change is hard, but it is possible. Investing the time to better understand why it’s difficult to break out of doing what we’ve always done means we’ll be better positioned to take a step back and view the opportunities and benefits of doing things differently.
There is no point in change for change’s sake. But driven by purpose, a clear sense of desired outcomes, a support system, and realizable goals, our ability to break out of the rut of doing the same thing again and again is far more likely, and there’s a greater chance of realizing the goals we seek.
