Rubber Band Effect in Change Management World

As we all know, change is the constant thing in the world. But why is that implementing change is so hard? And even if change is implemented, is it sustainable.

What is rubber-band effect?

Rubber band effect is one where a change is implemented but the organisations slowly, sometimes very rapidly, falls back to its old ways of doing things. It is very similar to our weight-loss plan during January. We do many things such as meeting dieticians or working with fitness trainer in the hope of reducing weight. Some people achieve success initially but eventually gain the weight lost. This effect of unsustainable change effort is called as “Rubber-band” effect.

Why does this occur?

This situation is very typical within many organisations. Everyone (or rather most) agrees that we need to improve the way we do business in order to survive and thrive in this competitive world.  Agreement on change is primarily because they have their rationale cap on and it does make sense to all our analytical brains at the end of the day.  But the underlying success formula is whether the change appeals to our emotional in addition to our analytical side. Therein lays the key to successful sustainable change. Now, how do we ensure that change appeals to both sides? Here is one approach:

Inside-out Approach

Consider a change that has been successfully implemented within an organisation – it does not matter what is the scale or impact of the change. Now, think what factors have actually contributed to the success of the change. If you do not know how to break it down, one way is to use the following change formula, as shown below:

D   *   V   *   F > R

D: Dissatisfaction with the status-quo. 

V: Vision of the future

F: First Steps

R: Resistance to change.

In other words, what were the success factors that can be aligned to D, V and F and how these factors helped the whole change programme to go past R. Then think how these success factors were embedded into business-as-usual. Utilise the lessons learnt from successful ingrown implementation in past and replicate similar conditions for the new changes. By doing so, you will be able to create an environment that is more conducive to organisation culture. One thing to watch out for is the time relativity. Obviously, one cannot copy the change implemented in 60s into current world without any implications.

For illustration, let us revisit the weight-loss example; consider why you were able to succeed in January. What are all the fundamental reasons for success early-on and how does it align with the above change formula. Now, think how can you replicate it across the year. Weight loss is just a metaphoric example but it can be any change of any size. Implanting such positive success for long-term success is what some pundits call as “Positive Root Cause” analysis.  

With that new terminology, I will leave you to do some “positive root cause analysis” for you and/or your organisation. Ponder over a change that has been hard and tried few times. i.e. you have seen the rubber-band effect over and over again.