BREAK THE MOLD™ Newsletter // Weekly articles from Alan Whitman challenging professional services leaders to think and lead differently to enable sustainable growth and build scale.
For those still waiting for Amazon to restock copies of my book, I would suggest placing an order directly through the publisher instead. Turnaround times are much quicker. Get a copy of Break the Mold.
People are afraid of the new.
What are your biggest fears related to business?
If you’re like many people, it might be things like:
Fear of disruption.
Fear of technology and AI.
Fear of competition.
All legitimate concerns!
But there’s another kind of fear that shows up quietly in organizations…and in my experience, does far more damage over time.
It’s the fear of what’s new.
Not because the new is inherently bad—although it often gets treated that way—but because it challenges the comfort associated with the way we’ve always done things.
And for many leaders, diving into the new seems much riskier than maintaining the way things have always been.
The result? Companies that don’t innovate. Teams that don’t push boundaries. And results that may look good now, but gradually deteriorate, and then suddenly, you’re on the outside looking in.
But that doesn’t have to be the case for you, your team, and your company.
When what’s “working” becomes the enemy of what’s “optimal”
From my experience, fear of the new disguises itself well.
On the surface, it often looks like discipline or commitment.
You hear it in phrases like:
- “Let’s wait until things settle down.”
- “Now isn’t the right time.”
- “We don’t want to disrupt what’s working.”
It sounds responsible, but I’ll warn you… It’s dangerous.
It’s dangerous because there can be a massive difference between what’s working vs what’s optimal.
I’ve watched organizations cling to legacy models, processes, and structures, not because they’re the best answer, but because they’re familiar. Familiar feels safe. Safe feels controllable. And controllable feels prudent.
It’s the old SALY—”Same As Last Year”.
Well, when broadly applied and without the context of strategy, SALY is not a winning mindset.
(Sorry to anyone with the name Sally…)
Over time, that mindset quietly lowers ambition. It narrows thinking. And it makes leaders far more focused on protecting what exists than building what’s next.
When “same as last year” happens again…and again… and again…that’s how firms drift. Gradually at first, then suddenly.
Unless, of course, you do something about it.
How to challenge fear of the new
Here are a few practical ways in which you, as a leader, can challenge your own relationship with what’s new and alter how your team thinks about it too:
Revisit your strategy.
Get clear on where you’re headed and why. Then ask an honest question: Are our current actions aligned to that strategy?
Often, the answer reveals that progress requires doing things differently—and yes, that usually means new. Enabling strategy forces continuous evolution.
From “change” → “progress”
“Change” creates fear. It’s a natural response. So alter the language you use in your organization by replacing “change” and “change management” with “progress” and “progress management”.
Doing things differently needs to carry a positive connotation to it, and progress feels that way.
Make the cost visible.
Don’t just talk about the risk of change—talk about the cost of not changing. What’s the cost of standing still? Could be lost relevance, slower growth, disengaged talent, strategy erosion, etc.
When we flip the conversation to what happens if we don’t change, the conversation can become more compelling.
Whiteboard new solutions.
One of the reasons companies get stuck in the SALY mindset is that people get stuck in the assumptions and roadblocks that create friction or make progress feel impossible.
An exercise I recommend is to whiteboard. If you were to design a new solution from scratch, what would you do?
While you go through this process, let go of all assumptions and barriers. Then, layer them back in once you come up with a different, more ideal way of doing things.
Closing thoughts
Organizations that remain relevant and sustainable don’t do so in the absence of fear.
They find ways to push people out of comfort and into meaningful progress.
My hope is that you don’t just nod along in agreement to this…
I want you to act on it.
Here’s what I’d suggest doing next:
- Revisit your strategy. Read my newsletters on strategy and alignment and ask: Where are we defaulting to SALY instead of making intentional choices to be progressive?
- Identify one place where accepting what’s “working” is limiting what’s optimal. Then commit to whiteboarding a new solution in the next 30 days. Even the activity will be enlightening.
- Alter the language you use. Replace “change” with “progress”. It sounds small. It isn’t.
Sure, new can be scary… AND something fantastic can be on the other side of embracing it.
See you next time.
With intention,
Alan Whitman
CEO at Nichols Cauley
Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways to engage with me, my content, and what we're building at Nichols Cauley:
Follow me on LinkedIn for daily posts on leadership, different ways of thinking, and building the firm of the future.
Buy my book, Break the Mold, to read in depth about how to apply my principles to achieve transformational change, growth, and scale simultaneously.
Join us on the journey: View career opportunities at Nichols Cauley and take part in our mission to put prosperity in reach for all team members and clients we serve.
Unsubscribe · Preferences