Afiniti Insights

You Can’t Make Me Change

In my last blog, I wrote about London buses going cashless, and how that change was pushed through, even though 67% of people who responded to a consultation were against it.

This made me think, how do I, myself, react to change?  I’m a Change Practitioner!  Am I more open to change than most?  Would I be in the 33% that were for cashless buses?  Do I embrace change?

Do I heck!  I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to change, I can be really stubborn.  Worse, when I think that a change has been done badly, I can actively fight against that change.  I do this to punish those who have implemented it.  I’m starting to think that I may have a problem.

Do you remember when the banks stopped you getting into internet banking unless you carried around a key fob with you?  Did I embrace that change?  Not on your life!  I made it a point to use phone banking instead, with each call to transfer some money making sure that I went through to some poor person on the phone, to tell them in a disappointed voice, that I’d “left my silly big key fob thingy at home today”.

Do you remember when supermarkets brought in the do it yourself checkouts?  Did I embrace them?  No chance.  I lined up at the counter at any opportunity.  If I did have the misfortune to have to use one, I would sigh and moan while pointing at the flashing red light at any time that it failed to recognise that I had indeed, just put a packet of dishcloths on the bagging scales and asked for a lottery ticket.

When I talk to clients about change management, I always make the point that they need to think about the “what’s in it for me” for the customer.  I’m thinking now it may actually be more than that.  The change recipient (if as stubborn as me) needs to know that they have been thought about.  They then make an active decision to either accept or reject the change.

Personally, I need more than the fact that you’ve timed that I’ll get through the supermarket quicker, I need to know that you’ve thought about my benefits and my dis-benefits, acknowledged where things get worse, and taken me on the journey as to why I should change.

I, myself, have to choose change.  You can’t make me do it.

Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards
Partner, Principal Consultant
Anthony is an accomplished Change Consultant and Business Analyst, who has worked on a variety of learning and business change projects since joining Afiniti in 2003.
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