""Some organisations try to drip feed change and not go too fast because it's very disruptive," she explains. "But I find the organisations that try to do it in that paced and measured way really stumble and often stall." The issue isn't that these organisations lack good intentions or sound strategy. Rather, they fall into what Williams calls the comfort trap - believing that slower change will be less disruptive and more sustainable. In reality, she argues, this approach often creates more problems than it solves."
""If you are trying to be very planned and measured and go at the right pace where people don't feel too uncomfortable, I think often that is the rational and logical way to look at change," Williams acknowledges. "But where I've seen organisations be really disruptive, rip the band-aid off and put bold, big change in, and yes, it's going to be bumpy, and you acknowledge that for a period of time. It usually settles and you surprise yourself at how much progress you can ma"
Measured, paced enterprise change commonly stalls because organisations prioritise comfort and minimal disruption over decisive action. Slow, multi-year approaches create a 'comfort trap' where incremental progress becomes inertia and problems compound. Major transformations at global organisations like BHP and BT Group show that decisive, accelerated interventions—though disruptive and bumpy initially—can accelerate cultural and operational shifts and lead to faster, more substantial progress. Acknowledging short-term disruption and committing to bold change can enable organisations to 'rip the band-aid off', reduce long-term drag, and achieve outcomes that surprised observers in scope and speed.
Read at Business Matters
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