A Simple Guide to Managing Change

A simple guide to managing change

June 6, 2025
By Doug Mensendiek | Senior Director of Sales

Despite the importance and inevitability of change, people often resist it rather than embrace it. Why? It’s hard to say, but one study found that people feel more pain from losing a $5 bill than joy from finding one. Said another way, the human brain feels more pain from loss than joy from gain. So, it makes sense that people are resistant to change: While it leads to a “gain,” we also “lose” the old normal in the process.

This psychological resistance is understandable and everywhere. It’s even in the supply chain. There may be recurring problems, but the instinct is to try to make the current state work. And when things seem to be running smoothly, we’re even less likely to scrutinize the status quo (even though a calm surface can be misleading). In any event, once a problem is identified, you’ve reached the first fork in the road to change management. DO NOT ignore the problem. You cannot move forward as if it’s not happening. If change is needed, it’s needed.

Change may be uncomfortable, but it also forces you to confront issues that seem easier to ignore. The process of tackling change can also reveal problems that have gone unnoticed. Change provides visibility.

Do you need to change?

Sometimes a problem is so ingrained that it doesn’t seem like a problem. It takes an objective outsider to provide a clarifying perspective. For example, a company we work with was spending $60,000 a year on paper for documents printed in their receiving area … only to instantly toss each and every one of those documents into the trash. Maybe this process served a purpose at one point. Perhaps it became so routine that no one noticed when it no longer made sense.

Whatever the reason, that $60,000 of waste went unquestioned until an outside source (in this case, one of our Lean Six Sigma consultants) pointed it out. Granted, this particular issue wasn’t going to make or break the business, but the change certainly helped with cost savings. Stack a bunch of similar wins together, and you start to move the needle.

The lesson is that it's not just resistance to change you need to overcome; first, you need to become aware of the need for change. An objective third party can help you answer where change is needed.

Combating resistance and reaping the benefits

What’s the risk of resisting change? When everything around us is moving at breakneck speed, “best practices” have a short shelf life. Falling behind the competition isn’t tenable in business or supply chains. If you're not at least keeping up, somebody else will step in and serve your customers.

Now, knowing you need to change is one thing. Actually making the change is another.

When implementing change, don’t just think about how it will affect the organization; also consider how it will affect the people. Ensure everyone involved feels like they’re part of the process and that they’re being heard. If your people aren’t on board, the change won’t go down well – or perhaps at all.

You don’t have to jump in headfirst. A bigger change can be broken down into steps. Start small and stay persistent with precise projects. (Avoid turning an entire system upside down unless you have a seasoned change management team.) Small steps have incremental effects. When one success is followed by another, then another, it builds trust, which fuels meaningful change over time.

Over-communicating in general is a must, but one piece of information you need to share early and often is the “rewards.” People will be more open to change if they know that the potential future state will improve their work. When implementing change, the plan is important, but it’s the buy-in and support of the plan that really make a change successful.

So, what is the cost of not changing?

The simplest answer is that not changing guarantees competitive slippage – because, by definition, nothing gets better without change. Of course, that doesn’t mean change for the sake of change or change at all costs. But it does mean taking a proactive approach to see where change is (1) needed and (2) cost-effective. Having a partner to help identify pain points, offer ideas for improvement, quantify the ROI, and execute projects can make the process smoother.

Again, everything comes down to the people involved. When implementing change, it’s important to step back and approach it thoughtfully so the workers and the tasks merge smoothly and successfully.

If you want to talk more about change management within your supply chain, please contact me. We can bring team members to work with you on change so you’re not tackling it alone. Together, we can transform your work.