…when change is needed.

I have written here about the Formula For Change, which can be summarized in this way: change is unlikely, and probably impossible, until the product of distress, an appealing vision, and the capacity to change is great enough to overcome whatever resistance exists.

A key word in that summary is “product.” It indicates that if any one of distress, vision or capacity is zero, change will not occur.

No distress, no change. It is sad, but there it is. Lots of people knew that the Gulf Coast was a disaster waiting to happen, but it took Katrina to supply enough distress to initiate change. Lots of people knew that America was vulnerable to terrorist attack, but it took 9/11 to supply enough distress to initiate change. We can argue about the efficacy of the changes being made, but it seems unarguable that change would not have been initiated without distress.

Over the last few years we have also watched films illuminate the need for enough distress to initiate change in the biographies of Ray Charles and Johnny Cash. I feel certain that you too have experienced change-inducing distress, or that you know someone who has.

So, if you manage others and they need to change, don’t shield them from distress. If friends or family members need to change, don’t shield them from distress. This does not mean setting out to cause distress. It usually means telling the truth, no matter how difficult to bear that truth may be.

And don’t expect that telling the truth alone will be enough to initiate change: expect instead that witholding distressing truths may render change impossible.

(see follow-up post containing an example…)