Overcoming Adoption Apathy

Change management has been high on my personal list of business concepts for a while.  I've been really focused the last few weeks on overcoming adoption apathy - the feeling that sets in during any type of change initiative that prevents you from wanting to change anymore.

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I'm sure everyone has, at one point or another, wanted to change something about either themselves or someone else.  At the beginning, everyone sees the need to change.  They're excited about improving the situation.  You have buy-in from everyone.  But then after a few weeks or months, that great momentum diminishes.  People stop being excited about the change, because its actually taking place.  But because they're not paying attention, the actual change itself slows, stops, and may even reverse.  

Overcoming Adoption Apathy

Over the past few weeks, I've come up with my personal ideas for working through Adoption Apathy.  I've tried out several, and these are the tactics that seem to work best for me.  

• Approach the change tangentially.  When I think about an obstacle all the time, I get overwhelmed with the scale.  I do better just going about doing it, and forgetting about how big of a chore it is.    

• Have a secret change partner.  The most powerful push for me to work is when I know someone is counting on me, and they will recognize my work and accomplishment.  But your brain is wired so if you tell someone your goal, it will fill you with happy chemicals.  So you have to keep your goal to yourself, but know who you're hoping to get recognition from.  

• Keep it fresh.  Don't let the change be something you did last month.  Make changes in your plan that still meet your goal within the framework of your plan.  This keeps you engaged and excited about it.  

• Don't fret over failure.  Yes, you should set goals.  They should be B-HAGS (big hairy audacious goals) so you push yourself to the best of your abilities.  But meeting those goals is not life-or-death.  If you don't meet them, remember that the journey was important, too.  There will be another chance tomorrow.  

• A change plan doesn't work for everyone.  You have to know the people involved (yourself, employees, customers, etc.) to find a change plan that will work.  Just be aware that a single change plan, no matter how broad, will not touch everyone involved.  Work to adapt the plan to the individual, if you can.  

I hope that some of these help you.  Each individual and each group is different and needs different rules to make change happen.  If you have any other ideas, I'd love for you to post them in the comments below.  

-sjk