Resistance as a Resource
Imagine this scene. For months, you have been trying to solve a sticky problem in your organization. Finally, after much study, experiment, and thought, you have devised a solution. For this scene, any solution will do — code inspections, UML, an automated test tool, Extreme Programming — as long as it requires people to change what they are doing.
You gather your courage, call people together, and make your proposal. From your right, Charlie says, "But we tried that before, and it didn't work." To your left, Pam says, "But we've never done that before." Right in front of you, Lee says, "But that's no different form what we're doing now." From the back of the room, you hear a rising chorus of, "But we don't have time!"
You don't really have to imagine this scene, do you? You've lived it. Perhaps you're living it right now. You're getting resistance. Now what do you do?
When I get resistance, my first step to resolving it is to remember the two realities of resistance. First is the Harsh Reality of Resistance: I cannot make another person do anything. People always decide for themselves how they will respond to my proposals, my requests, and even my demands. What's more, no matter how brilliant my ideas, people always choose their responses based on their own point of view and not on mine.
