The More Things Change…

The French writer (and critic) Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” It may be true that, in general, change may be the only absolute constancy in life. It is even more the case for those who lead businesses. Managing change is perhaps the single most essential responsibility of leadership. Nature relentlessly brings new and often unexpected challenges in the rhythms of the revolving seasons, disruptive weather patterns, and all sorts of natural phenomena, from tornados and floods to volcanos and draughts – that toy with human existence with, at times, terrifying force and unpredictability. It is no wonder that most people equate change with danger – and seek with all their might to resist.

In business, all of nature’s fury takes aim at you and meddles with your plans. And then you must add to all this the force of competition – who, as the late business professor and author Oren Harari wrote, will easily take aim, given that success leaves a target on your back. And the most insidious competition for your ongoing success, and even your survival, is the destructive force of human incompetence that is the scourge of most organizations. Nothing fuels incompetence more efficiently than resistance to change – and the failure of your organization to adapt to the myriad challenges you are sure to face.

Doubtlessly, this observation led Grace Hopper (a renowned computer science pioneer and retired Rear Admiral, US Navy) to point out, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is – we’ve always done it this way.” This thought brings us back to the challenges of leadership, where we can look to the wit and wisdom of humorist Robert C. Gallagher, who quipped, “Change is inevitable —except from a vending machine.” Change, being a constant, also provides opportunities for the problems that lie in its wake. The purpose of every sustainable business is to solve problems, first for your customers and then always for your organization.

In his typical, somewhat cryptic prodding, Dr. Lee Thayer would gleefully note that competent, highly effective leaders choose the problems they want to have. More precisely, they choose the problems they benefit most from solving – or, even better, obviating. And when you are no better than your competition at solving the problems you and your customers face, you become irrelevant and will likely face extinction.

Here, we go back to Grace Hopper (who earned the nickname Amazing Grace, I think, for obvious good reason). She strongly observed, “You don’t manage people; you manage things. You lead people.” More clearly to the point, she pointed out that you don’t “manage people into battle.”

There is a component to managing change that is somewhat scientific. You can observe and even measure most of the changes that impact you. There are systems for forecasting likely scenarios and strategic exercises for developing your response. You can use this data to either reduce your likely risk exposure or entrepreneurially lean into the risk and innovate ahead of the curve – and your competition.

The view that people fear change is largely inaccurate – which is good news for leaders. What people fear is loss. If they associate change with losing something significant – they will likely resist change, yet nearly nobody resists changes that benefit them. A change in income through a raise is generally welcomed, as is winning the lottery. Now, those events might not benefit the recipients if, for example, they believe that more money equals more problems. Getting married, having children, and taking vacations all reflect changes that most people expect will be positive – though for many people, these things turn out to be regrettable.

The trepidation most people feel is not the fear of change (or necessarily loss) as much as their fear of uncertainty and the unknown. This, too, can be good news for you as a leader.

Throughout the recent pandemic, people from all walks of life – especially the pundits and media- constantly referred to it as a time of unprecedented uncertainty. It certainly got many people’s attention, offering an excuse for the difficulties many people (and businesses) were suffering through. Yet, those with a more sober, optimistic, and pragmatic view of the world noted that the world is never devoid of uncertainties.

Those who held their own or actually benefited, for the most part, were those who could embrace uncertainty and adapt to the changes in the economy, the workplace environment, and people’s attitudes. For those who possess the vision to lead with their creative resourcefulness, the ability to pivot produced resilient and durable opportunities that remain fully sustainable.

Lee Thayer suggested that this is the definition of a High-Performance Organization: One that does whatever it does better than anyone else and continuously improves and constantly adapts in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.

Accomplishing these elements of a High-Performance Organization ought to be what matters most. And accomplishing this is a function of leading your people into battle with the forces aimed against you.

You lead people into uncertainty by fostering curiosity and a relentless sense of purpose. The only way you can possibly accomplish this is by being an exemplar of the qualities you aim to instill or uncover in others. Your objective must be to demonstrate that your potential is always a work in progress and that your ruthless pursuit of competence and the potential of those you lead is rooted in how deeply you care about them and the purpose that drives your mission.

It then begins to make sense that the more things change, the more you remain the same: unwaveringly devoted to embracing that change – and harnessing the force for a greater good.