Lancefield on the Line

David Schonthal: How to overcome the resistance to your ideas

October 27, 2021 David Lancefield Season 1 Episode 5
Lancefield on the Line
David Schonthal: How to overcome the resistance to your ideas
Show Notes Chapter Markers

We spend a lot of our professional days trying to sell ideas to colleagues or clients, don't we? We may not like the idea of selling but that's exactly what we're doing. It might for support for an initiative or investment in a project - from a Board, Exco, or external investor.

We'd like to think that do it well - describing its features, explaining how it works and selling the benefits. No doubt with conviction, emotion too. But sometimes the answer is 'no'. Perhaps it wasn't compelling enough so we try harder. Often the real problem is that we haven't invested enough time in understanding their resistance.

My guest, Prof. David Schonthal argues that innovators neglect the the psychological frictions that oppose change. And though they are rarely considered, overcoming these frictions is essential for bringing new ideas into the world. 

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The book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fuel-Friction-Taming-Forces-Stand/dp/1119765048

Book site: https://www.humanelementbook.com/

David's profile:  https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/directory/schonthal_david.aspx.

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Highlights of my work

Every Leader Has Flaws. Don’t Let Yours Derail Your Strategy (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/09/every-leader-has-flaws-dont-let-yours-derail-your-strategy

5 strategies to infuse diversity & inclusion into your organisation (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/05/5-strategies-to-infuse-di-into-your-organization

4 actions transformational leaders can take (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/05/4-actions-transformational-leaders-take

Four building blocks of transformation (S+B): https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-Four-Building-Blocks-of-Transformation?gko=5a1aa

How to be a visionary leader and still have a personal life (HBR): https://hbr.org/2020/11/how-to-be-a-visionary-leader-and-still-have-a-personal-life

How to practise strategy in an uncertain world (Strategy+Business): http://bit.ly/2OaojhB

10 principles of strategic leadership (S+B): http://bit.ly/3q14kQm

How to reinvent your organisation in the middle of a crisis (HBR): https://hbr.org/2021/02/how-to-reinvent-your-organization-in-the-middle-of-a-crisis

How to convince people that a crisis is also an opportunity (Forbes): https://www.forbes.com/sites/lbsbusinessstrategyreview/2020/04/28/how-to-convince-people-that-a-crisis-is-also-an-opportunity/?sh=441e32b830f8

The Fuel and Friction of change
What gets in the way of people thinking more about Friction
Integrating friction into the innovation process
How he uses these concepts in his own practices and roles
How to encourage people to think of Frictions
How do you get the right blend of Fuel and Friction
How big a shift it is to think in this way
How thinking of Frictions improves inclusion
What VCs and business schools can learn from each other
The lack of hierarchy in the four aspects of Friction
Universality
How he’s used his research in his personal life