- Only 9% of people modify their behavior after life-threatening events like bypass surgery due to behavioral mindsets that resist change. Over 70% of organizational change initiatives fail due to people's resistance, not flaws in the initiatives. - There are several behavioral mindsets that cause people to resist change, including the belief that change requires too much effort, a "seniority syndrome" mindset, and "competing commitments" that unconsciously undermine change goals. - The human brain is naturally inclined to resist change as an automatic response governed by the fast-thinking "X-system." Overcoming resistance requires slow, conscious reflection through the "C-system" to challenge deep-seated behaviors and assumptions.

1. By Subrata Dey EDRC-MMH IC
and it’s Challenges

2. The Challenges
Studies reveal that only 9% of
people modified their behaviour
for better and healthy living even
after undergoing a life-threatening
bypass surgery.
Over 70% of change initiatives in
organizations fail because of
people resistance – not because
they weren’t good business ideas,
driven by sound analysis, systems
and facts.

3. The Challenges
•Have you ever shouted at your kid,
spouse or colleague for their (bad)
habit?
•Don’t they know that giving up bad
habits by embracing change will be
good for them, family and company?
•Ever experienced these frustration?
Why do people can’t change?

4. Change is the only constant…
People don't resist change. They resist being
changed due to behavioural mindsets.

5. Behavioral
Mindsets
 Change Needs
Effort
 Seniority
Syndrome
 Competing
Commitments
Resisting Factors
 Prisoner of Past

6. • Change is indeed more work. We are creatures of
habit. Routines become automatic, but change jolts us into
consciousness, sometimes in uncomfortable ways. Too many
differences can be distracting or confusing.
Change Needs Effort

7. • Fear of Unknown and Uncertainty. People will
often prefer to remain mired in misery than to head towards an
unknown. As the saying goes, "Better the devil you know than
the devil you don't know." To overcome inertia requires a sense
of safety as well as an inspiring vision.
Change Needs Effort

8. • Loss of control: As per "Kanter's Law” everything can
look like a failure and out of control in the middle of change
initiative. Leaders can play important role in convincing people to
adapt the changes. Although leaders can't always make people
feel comfortable with change, they can minimize discomfort.
Change Needs Effort

9. • Ripple effects. Like tossing a pebble into a pond, change
creates ripples, reaching distant spots in ever-widening circles.
The ripples disrupt other departments, important customers,
people well outside the venture or neighbourhood, and they start
to push back, rebelling against changes.
Change Needs Effort

10. • Prisoner of
Past
Behavioral
Mindsets
 Change Needs
Effort
 Seniority
Syndrome
 Competing
Commitments
Resisting Factors

11. • Silo Culture: People working in organization or department
for longer duration can develop this sort of mindset. Their
experience and knowledge being limited they are unaware of the
changing outside world.
Prisoner of Past
Change is a departure from
the past. Those people
associated with the last
version — the one that didn’t
work, or the one that’s being
superseded — are likely to be
defensive about it.

12. • Illusion: Old is gold. These people are living in the
illusionary world that past success can be replicated in the
future as well. They believe that the processes or business
models that have worked in the past will lead to success in the
future.
The greatest danger in
times of turbulence is not
the turbulence; it is to act
with yesterday’s logic."
— Peter Drucker
Prisoner of Past

13. • Competencies. Some people enjoy change because it
provides them with an opportunity to learn new things and grow
personally and professionally. Others abhor change because they
lack the competency to learn new skill and resists change. They
prefer to remain in their comfort zone of past.
Prisoner of Past

14. • Prisoner of
Past
Behavioral
Mindsets
 Change Needs
Effort
 Seniority
Syndrome
 Competing
Commitments
Resisting Factors

15. • Many among us suffer from this Seniority Syndrome. We
succumb to the unjustified demands of our superiors.
• We also expect our subordinates to follow us blindly.
• We reject their constructive suggestions for a better process or
product to remain in our own comfort zone.
The corporate world has many
Eklavya and Dronacharya.
Seniority Syndrome

16. Our Values……
Form Mythological stories “Gurukul” to “Class room” to
“Corporate setup????”

17. • During the British Rule of India, A British school inspector once
came to a school and set a spelling test. A boy spelled all the
words correctly except “kettle”. The class teacher noticed the
mistake and gestured him to copy the correct spelling from the
boy sitting next to him. But the boy refused to take the hint and
was later scolded for his "stupidity”.
Our Values……
Your Guru is not always correct………
The Boy was

18. • At first “Narendra” did not accept “Him” as his Guru. He tested
Him in various ways and asked him many critical questions. The
Teacher also encouraged him and told him "Test me as the
moneychangers test their coins. You must not believe me without
testing me thoroughly.” Narendra debated, questioned, argued
and then accepted Him as his “Spiritual Leader.”
Our Values……
Questioning ,Testing and Arguing is not “Disrespecting”…………

19. Our Values……

20. Seniority Syndrome
Speaking up is not questioning the authority………….

21. • Change will occur when Meritocracy supersedes Seniorito-
cracy because lot of them are just resting on their past
reputation of good performer.
Seniority Syndrome

22. Seniority Syndrome
A typical example of meritocracy society………….

23. • Prisoner of
Past
Behavioral
Mindsets
 Change Needs
Effort
 Seniority
Syndrome
 Competing
Commitments
Resisting Factors

24. John an African American has been promoted to Lead the
Product Testing Vertical of an American software company
dominated by Americans. John was a believer in open
communication and valued closed working relations.
John wanted to move up the organization, but his personal
working style, his caustic sense of humor was holding him back.
He was counseled and he readily agreed that he needed to
change his way, but time after time he reverted to his original
style.
Competing Commitments
Both John and his boss failed to
understand why he is undermining
his own advancement ?

25. • Behavioural Scientists on the basis of their research have
coined this term “Competing Commitments”. It is a
subconscious, hidden goal that conflicts with their main stated
commitments. Sometimes top performer and most valuable
employees are unwittingly caught in a competing commitment.
A Competing Commitment make people personally immune to
change. Worse, they can undermine the best employee and an
company’s success.
Competing Commitments

26. • A project leader dragging his feet has an unrecognized
competing commitment to avoid a tougher assignment that may
come his way if he delivers too successfully on the current
project.
• An outstanding performer when promoted to managerial role
failed miserably. His passion to be at the front with team
members detracts him from playing the role of the manager as a
consequence of which the project suffered.
Competing Commitments

27. • Diagnosing the competing commitment requires
introspection and asking a few tough questions to oneself. It can
be due to long held beliefs, habits and assumptions. Boss, peers
and family members may help to identify such commitment
through dialogues.
I’m
jogging
to….
I just
love it…
Competing Commitments

28. Competing Commitments
Both John and his boss failed to
understand why he is undermining
his own advancement ?
Our Friend John is also suffering from “competing commitments.”
John believed that if he became too well integrated with the team,
it would threaten his loyalty to his racial group. In short, while John
was genuinely committed to working well with his colleagues, he
had an equally powerful competing commitment to keep his
distance to avoid any backlash from his friends and family.
Whether John’s Fear is Genuine?

29. Competing Commitments
A handshake to congratulate the winning team ruined
Kabir Khan’s life in the movie “Chak De India”
Video Time

30. Competing Commitments
For more on competing
commitments read the HBR
article or the Book by Robert
Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey.

31. • Prisoner of
Past
Behavioral
Mindsets
 Change Needs
Effort
 Seniority
Syndrome
 Competing
Commitments
Resisting Factors
We can learn more about resistance to
change from neuroscience. Research has
shown that resisting change is not only
natural, but most often even involuntary.
Human Behaviours are governed by the Brain

32. Exercise -1
Black Blue Green
Red Green Orange
Orange Black Red
Yellow Red Blue
Blue Black Yellow
Green Orange Black
Read the Text and note the required time.

33. Exercise -2
ᵾᵯᶑɣ ῷ∂∏u ⌂ ∂∏u
Θ‡ R∂ u∂∏G ∞₯Ώr
ῷᵯɣge u∏⌂ ∂ ᵯRᶑɣ
ʁʢɮɄ ᵯɣgῷ ∂∏BG
∏⌂ ∂e Θ‡ R∂ ῷ∂∏eu
∂∏Gn ∞₯Ώr ᶑɣcᵾᵯ
Identify the Colour of the Text and note the time.
The Unbiased Brain

34. Exercise -3
Black Blue Green
Red Green Orange
Orange Black Red
Yellow Red Blue
Blue Black Yellow
Green Orange Black
The Biased Brain
Identify the Colour of the Text and note the time.

35. The Human Brain
Much more time required for the 3rd Exercise. Right?
The 3rd Exercise is a deviation from routine i.e. we are
used to read the words and not to identify the colors. This
is a change for us.
Independent research in different fields i.e. Neuroscience,
behavior psychology and change management has given
us some insight about it.

36. The Human Brain
Daniel Kahneman Nobel Prize Winner in
Economics describes two systems that govern
how the mind works, one we control and one we
do not.
System 1: Fast, automatic, frequent, emotional,
stereotypic, subconscious.
System 2: Slow, effortful, infrequent, logical,
calculating, conscious.
We could not survive without System 1 and yet it
often causes us to make systematic errors in
specific situations.
Daniel Kahneman is a
psychologist notable
for his work on the
psychology of
judgment and
decision-making, as
well as behavioral
economics.

37. The Human Brain
Neuroscientists divides the brain into X-system
(reflexive) and C-system (reflective) functions.
X-system is energy efficient, reacting
automatically and fast. It is tuned in to
immediate goals and past emotions, memory,
habits and beliefs, it matches perceptions with
patterns on the fly.
The C-system takes more energy to function
and processes information more slowly, one
step at a time. Governing higher order
thinking, the C-system’s job is to consciously
reflect on, challenge and correct the X-system.

38. The Human Brain
Unconscious Brain, Takes control whenever perceives threat.
Conscious Brain, can overrule hidden brain under normal circumstances.

39. The Subconscious Brain
This is the X-System by Neuroscientist and System 1 by Kahneman.
1. Hidden brain’s main imperative is survival and any perceived
threat leads automatically to a fight or flight response.
2. It is the place where we have uncontrollable emotional reactions.
3. Think of it as the Read Only Memory (ROM) of a computer that
has preprogrammed routines, but in this case, they get called
automatically by various circumstances.
4. It is the storage place of our habits and works on Autopilot
mode.
5. Our brain uses up to 20 percent of our energy. In the days when
food was scarce, humans did their best to conserve energy, which
meant relying as much as possible on the hidden brain for survival.
6. Even today most of our decisions and perceptions come from the
hidden brain. We cannot control which ones get called and when.

40. The Conscious &Evolved (PFC) Brain
This is the C-System by Neuroscientist and System 2 by Kahneman.
1. This is the more modern and evolved part of our brain called the
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). This is unique for human being.
2. This is the reasoning part of the brain, sometimes called the human
brain and it can overrule subconscious brain under normal
circumstances.
3. Think of it as the Central Processing Unit of a computer that does
the thinking for the computer.
4. Using the PFC actually causes pain, because it takes hard work.
5. The good news is that we do want to enhance our chances of
survival, and when we plot a new path and take a new step that works,
we get shots of Dopamine that give us a pleasure rush.
Our Brain tends to work with “law of least effort”.

41. The Human Brain
Exercise -3 Identifying the Color
PF Cortex in use and there is
direct conflict with Hidden brain
which is trying to read the word.
High energy requirements.
Exercise -1 Reading the Text
Hidden (habitual) Brain in use
which works in autopilot mode.
Low energy requirements.
Black Blue Green
Red Green Orange
Orange Black Red
Yellow Red Blue
Blue Black Yellow
Green Orange Black
Black Blue Green
Red Green Orange
Orange Black Red
Yellow Red Blue
Blue Black Yellow
Green Orange Black

42. The Human Brain
Learning to Drive??
PF Cortex in use which needs
concentration and causes stress.
High energy requirements.
Expert Driver- multi tasking??
Hidden (habitual) Brain in use
which works in autopilot mode.
Low energy requirements.

43. The Human Brain By Mark Jaben
X-System or System-1
C-System or System-2

44. The Challenges
•Have you ever shouted at your kid,
spouse or colleague for their (bad)
habit?
•Don’t they know that giving up bad
habits by embracing change will be
good for them, family and company?
•Ever experienced these frustration?
Why do these people can’t change?

45. The Habit Formation

46. The Habit Formation
1.If the C-System thinks
about doing something
new, X-System can enable
it under normal
circumstances.
2. As we perform an act, a
feedback loop between C-
system and X-system
(inner brain) occurs and
we get shots of Dopamine
(reward) for positive
outcomes.
3. When we repeat the activity for
“N” times, it gets stored as “chunk
of actions” within the X-system
(inner brain) as “HABIT.”

47. The Human Brain
When our Brain has pre programmed routines (Habits/
behaviourable patterns) which get called automatically by
various circumstances then
Any Idea?

48.  Prisoner of
Past
Behavioral
Mindsets
 Change Needs
Effort
 Seniority
Syndrome
 Competing
Commitments
How to Change
When the brain is filled with routines that
get in the way of change, perhaps we can
beat the brain at its own game—create
new automatic routines that support
continuous improvement.
Human Behaviours are governed by the Brain

49. How to Change
John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor
has given a crucial insight – “Behaviour change
happens mostly by speaking to people’s feelings.”
Reframe: New way of thinking about our future.
Relate: A coach, Guide or Supportive Peer Group.
Repeat: Requires repeating healthy behaviours
until they become the new routines.
Alan Deutschman in his Book Change or Die has
suggested that creating new behaviour patterns is
Possible through the 3Rs –Reframe, Relate and
Repeat.

50. Reframe
We have to REFRAME our thoughts.
We have to pay attention repeatedly to
new actions and insights over a period
of time.
We have to question our long held
behavior, assumptions and beliefs.

51. Relate
Just like the trainer of the driving school, for
reinforcing positive change we need support and
immediate feedback from others—a buddy,
leader/coach or family member.
The role of the coach is very important. The
corrective feedback reminds us about the REFRAME
and positive feedback acts as a reward and
motivates us to proceed with the change.

52. Relate
It works when there is an emotional bond
between the two. Change for improvement
needs emotional persuasion and trust.
For organizational changes CEO plays the role
of Guide and he has to address a diverse and
heterogeneous audience. The story has to be
simple, easy to identify with, emotionally
resonant and evocative of positive
experiences.

53. Repeat
The Repeat requires repeating healthy
behaviors until they become the new
routines.
Repetition is required to transfer the data
from Prefrontal Cortex to Habitual brain so
that the new routine can work in Autopilot
mode without conscious effort.

54. Dr. Ornish Program
He experimented with 333 patients with Severely clogged arteries.
The patients were put on Ornish vegetarian diet with less than
10% of calories from fat.
The patients attended twice-weekly group support sessions with
psychologist.
The attended meditation, yoga and aerobic exercise classes.
These program lasted for a year.
The study found that even after 3 years 77% of the patients
maintained the practice and avoided the heart surgery.

55. Dr. Ornish Program
Conventional wisdom says that the crisis is a
powerful motivator for change. But severe heart
disease failed to change the behaviour of majority
(91%) of people.(Not part of the program).
The 3Fs—Facts, Fear, and Force never work for
implementing change. Facts are attempts to
influence the PF, but the resistance comes from
the hidden brain that is not processing facts
rationally.
Fear and Force directed at your survival
instinct works only when you are at gun point
24 hours a day—very unlikely to happen.

56. Dr. Ornish Program
Change or Die will lead to threat response.
It stops reflective thinking and habitual brain takes the control.

57. Dr. Ornish Program
He avoided to motivate his patients with “Fear of Dying”.
He inspired a new vision of “joy of living” and convinced his
patient that they will feel better and will live longer with his ideas.
“Joy” is a more powerful motivator than “Fear”.
He supported them in their pursuit with Support Group for a
period of one year until that become the routine for the majority.

58. Dr. Ornish Program
Change for Improvement will lead to Positive Response.
It encourages reflective thinking and allows Prefrontal Cortex to
be in the control.

59. The Human Brain
Positive emotions keeps us
motivated to learn the driving.

60. The Human Brain
Yes, we can overcome the obstacles the hidden brain
presents to thoughtful and deliberate improvement.