Change Management Is Just Respecting Humans

At some point in this conversation, someone usually says:

“This all sounds reasonable, but do we really need to call it change management?”

Honestly? Call it whatever you want. Call it:

• enablement

• adoption strategy

• rollout planning

• common sense

• not being surprised at work (surprises are only fun if they come with snacks and champagne at work)

The label isn’t the problem.

The problem is pretending that humans will behave logically under pressure, with incomplete information, while their incentives stay exactly the same.

People don’t resist change because they’re emotional. They resist change because they’re human. Humans:

• avoid looking incompetent

• stick with what’s familiar

• respond to incentives

• choose the easiest available path

• protect their sense of competence

Ignoring that doesn’t make you pragmatic. It makes you optimistic in a way that’s expensive.

Good change management isn’t soft. It’s not about feelings. It’s about predictability.

If you know how people tend to react, you can design change that:

• lands more smoothly

• sticks faster

• creates less rework

• requires fewer escalations

That’s not fluff. That’s applied psychology.

The fastest teams aren’t the ones who ignore people. They’re the ones who design for them.

Change managed well, changes everything.