We have two innate traits that influence our daily actions: maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. Certain individuals or groups resist change because of a perception, valid or not, that the future state can interrupt their contentment with the status quo.
Whenever you encounter resistance to change, identify the pleasure or pain points that they are trying to protect. If the root cause of the resistance is related to pleasure, highlight how the future state can make their lives easier or their work more enjoyable.
In contrast, if the primary reason is the fear of more pain, communicate how the change can help eliminate or reduce their misery. Usually, dealing with one or the other will do trick. If you address both, then they’ll crave for more changes. If you want to win, pamper them with pleasure and ease their pain.
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Tags: resistance to change