Change Management: Don’t Throw Out the Old for the New

Don’t throw out the old for the new

By Nicky Carew

Change has been on my mind a lot lately. Two things happened this month that got me thinking about it from completely opposite directions.

Exhibit A: the Speedwatch naysayers

I coordinate a Community Speedwatch campaign in our town. The case for it is a no-brainer: safer roads, less noise and pollution, and — because we're a heritage site — a better experience for visitors, who then stick around longer and spend more in local shops and cafés.

Once or twice a week, we take the speed gun out. And almost every single time, someone walking past stops to tell us it's pointless. Nothing will change, they say.

Tell that to the twenty-odd drivers who get a stern letter from the police each session.

Here's what I can't work out: what do these people get out of stopping to talk down an effort to make their own street safer? What's the payoff for standing still?

Exhibit B: the festival that time forgot (in the best way)

Then, a few weeks later, a completely different kind of change.

At the Deer Shed Festival, alongside the music, the activities on offer looked like they'd been lifted straight from the 1970s — or, less charitably, straight from my own childhood. Building robots out of scrap. A murder mystery told entirely in Lego. Swingball. Supervised blacksmith forging. Imagination trails. Adults were throwing pots, binding books, wild swimming.

Every single session was booked solid. Not a phone or screen in sight. No tantrums — just happy noise and simple, uncomplicated fun.

It looked like change running in reverse. It wasn't. It was change done well — old ideas, refreshed and put back to work.

The lesson

This is exactly what we encourage our clients to think about when they're navigating change: don't throw out the old just because the new looks shinier.

Before you rip something up and start again, ask what was actually working about the old way — and look for ways to combine it with the new. Get that balance right, and you'll bring the naysayers and the early adopters along with you. That's how you build something better, for everyone.

If either of these stories resonate, get in touch. We’d love to help you create a great environment for change to thrive. Book a Free Advisory Call.