When you try to make changes, you will encounter resistance. Jeremy Thomas and Myron Weber discuss a mental model and practical applications for understanding the sources and solutions to systemic resistance.

Sources of ResistanceKnowledge Inertia: see the concept of paradigm shifts as introduced by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.Structural Stasis: things are the way they are for a reason - you can't change the structure of a system by fiatPolitical Resistance: organizations don't make decisions; people in organizations make decisions. Public Choice theory helps us understand the motivations.A Physical Analogy of Resistance and How to Overcome ItFriction: static friction keeps things locked in place; dynamic friction creates heat when change is under wayLubricants: getting things unstuck and keeping them movingConceptual Models for Overcoming ResistanceStrategic Leadership: unfreeze - change - freeze (Kurt Lewin)Cultural Leadership: manage your own anxiety to improve the functioning of the system (Murray Bowen)Technical Leadership: solving the problem is the most important goal of leadership (Gerald Weinberg)Systems Thinking: what do you control; what do you influence; what established structures and functions must be changed?