No Pain, No Change

No pain, no change.

In his book “Ruthless Consistency”, Michael Canic recommends that leaders clearly articulate the “strategic why” behind any organizational change effort.

He refers to this as the “Case for Change”, placing equal emphasis on:

1. Achieving a desirable outcome or state (gain)
2. Avoiding an undesirable outcome or state (pain)

I find that most leaders evaluate gains AND pains during their strategic planning efforts.

YET too many leaders over-emphasize future gain while skirting past potential pain when bringing the change effort to their people.

❌ Perhaps these leaders have made their decision and have thus moved on.
❌ Perhaps they don’t want to frighten their people.

If you only present the upside you’re moving toward, you won’t create enough energy and momentum to overcome others’ natural resistance to change.

💪 Let’s give our people the whole truth.
💪 Let’s bring them fully on the journey.

If the gain we’re pursuing is worth the effort, we can’t shy away from the necessary role of pain in the change process.