The 48 Laws of Power in Practice

Law 45: Preach the Need for Change, But Never Reform Too Much at Once

People understand the need for change as a concept, but they will resist if it dramatically impacts their day-to-day lives. If you come into power, gain support by showing respect for the old way of doing things.

Application –

People like things that are familiar and are shocked by too much change all at once.

Much of this law is applicable to our everyday lives. For example, when you introduce someone to your family, it's best to do it gradually. It will help if you talk about them ahead of time and arrange a few casual meetings, rather than just bringing them home for Thanksgiving.

This law can be seen in the adoption of new technologies. In business school, they teach that the technology adoption curve is made of 5 different stages. Only 2.5% of a targeted group are willing to be the first to try a product. It's not until the 3rd or 4th stages that the majority of people are finally open to change.

The fashion industry, on the other hand, has been able to drive demand for new products but creating iterations of trends from the past. Because past fashions are familiar, people are more willing to get on board. For example, high-waisted bell bottoms and velour tracksuits have become popular again. In the last two decades, the way of dress in the U.S. has been popularized by the fashions of the 80s, 90s, and now 2000s Y2K fashion.

Tale of Two Bosses –

Periodically, a short meeting would pop up on my calendar with the name of someone I haven't met. I knew it would be a "meet and greet" session with someone in the company I'd need to work with. It was a new manager, who was brought in to lead a different department, to replace someone who left. During these meetings, we would usually exchange backgrounds and make a nice first impression. After the first few weeks is when you see them in action.

One day, like lighting, she got to work turning the current processes upside down. In meetings, I watched the dynamic between her and her team. It was a one-sided dictation. New processes were being added every week. But they never had a chance to stick before being replaced by yet another new process. This was all at a time when the company was adopting new software that would change everything about how their team worked. Adaptability is a virtue but people have their limits. In the first six months, half the team quit. The ones who were left had to pick up the slack, and everyone could tell they were hanging on by a thread.

In contrast, I think of the time when a new manager was hired for our department. The odds were stacked against her because she was being hired over several people who had hoped to be promoted. Everyone was tense as they anticipated an outsider coming in to impose her will. During the first time she met with each person on the team, she told them that she wasn't here to change anything. Still, people were very suspicious for a long time.

Most days, she asked people for help. She spent a lot of time just trying to learn how things worked. When she handed out tasks, it was always an open discussion. And she let people do things their way as long as the work was completed. Over the long run, I can say there were actually plenty of changes. But they were more of an adjustment to business needs and less change for the sake of change. Because it was gradual, it was less traumatic for everyone.

In a lot of ways, the two managers were faced with similar situations. It's hard to come on board and manage employees that you did not hire. But that is only one of the many challenges a manager must overcome. I've learned that one of the ways you earn respect on a new team is to show respect for the way things were done before you. Because it's the way your employees did things before you came along.