Employees not only winch at the mention of change, they also cling to the past with fierce determination. Who can blame them? Given the way a record number of corporate chieftains have mismanaged so many companies into oblivion, they’ve got reason to be nervous about change.

Change resistance is trigged when the boss returns from the corporate retreat with a dour face clutching a three-ring binder and mumbling something about those idiots who run the place. Sure enough, at the department meeting he passes out copies of a new master plan guaranteed to pump up profits and bury the competition.

If you want to panic people, just mention the word change and watch their faces. They get that deer-in-headlights look with wide opened eyes and a gapping mouth.

Such strong resistance is most often a reaction to how change has been handled by those in charge. Change is serious business, yet management treats it like a campaign and celebrates with balloons and banquets, overstated promises, and optimistic predictions about what the latest and greatest scheme will produce.

You can’t fault folks who cop the attitude: Been there, done that, it didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. You hear this expression from people so burned out on change that they don’t care anymore: “We’ve seen them come and seen them go, and this too shall pass.”

You probably know of executives who like to make changes just to see what happens. No reasoned thought put into it, just a whim. You try very hard to make change happen because the consequences of challenging this guy (women know better) are very unpleasant. Later, he discovers that his brainchild isn’t going to work so he orders everything put back the way it was. “Hey!” he shrugs, “It’s no big deal. What’s all the fuss was about?”

That’s just about what happened at a branch bank located in a heavily trafficked, upscale shopping mall. This branch had been so successful that the manager was promoted to corporate. The staff was sad to see her leave, but also proud of what they had achieved under her management. All this changed when her gung-ho replacement arrived. Hell bent on outperforming his predecessor, he immediately instituted a customer service campaign that made no sense to the staff.  

He dubbed the scheme “5 x 5” which was shorthand for 5-minutes or 5 dollars. The premise being that if you waited longer than 5 minutes in line, you’d received $5 for your time. Signs and notices were plastered all over the mall inviting shoppers to take the challenge. He was counting on the staff’s excellent reputation to ensure that few, if any, customers would claim the money. He was in for a big surprise.

The word quickly spread to the mall employees who were mostly college students working part-time that there was a quick way to pick up $5. All they had to do was stand in line at the bank for more than 5-minutes. So, they arranged to get together during breaks and form lines at the bank. It wasn’t long before the lines were backed up into the mall. As more and more customers waited longer than the requisite 5-minutes, the number of $5 bills being claimed rose rapidly.

Friday, which was payday for most mall employee, became a nightmare as mall merchants, students, and shoppers descended on the bank simultaneously. Chaos was the only way to describe the situation.

The hapless branch manager made several changes in the way the lines were formed only to have the students thwart his every move. He imposed restrictions on the number of times a customer could claim the money. Nothing worked.

Within six weeks, what had once been a vibrant, well-run bank where customers chatted and exchanged friendly banter while waiting had turned into a negatively charged atmosphere devoid of customer service? Many mall merchants closed their accounts and depositors began leaving in droves. By the time the change-obsessed idiot swallowed his pride and canned the cockamamie scheme it was too late. Alarmed by the sudden drop in revenue Corporate pulled the plug on the manager and the branch. A few months later a drug store moved into that space.