Is Change Risky? The Counterintuitive Truth About Standing Still

Picture this: You're standing on a bridge, one foot on solid ground, the other hovering over empty space. That's what change feels like—terrifying, uncertain, pulse-racing.

But here's a plot twist: The real danger isn't the step you're about to take. It's the ground that's slowly crumbling beneath your feet.

The Brutal Reality of Not Changing

The author Gordon MacDonald articulated a truth that should wake everyone up: Organizations—and people—that don't adapt don't just fade away. They become extinct.

“an organisation… that was considered to be the best of the best at one point in time is likely to lose most of its advantage when there’s massive historical change, or, as Barker puts it, paradigm shift. If that organisation doesn’t take the changes seriously and ask what they mean and make suitable adjustments, it will find itself losing ground, maybe going out of existence. In fact, it’s not just suitable adjustments, it may mean total reinvention.”

The Velocity of Change

Consider this: The world you were born into doesn't exist anymore.

Kids in school today can't even imagine a world without smartphones, instant connectivity, or streaming services. Everything is in constant motion. Everything is transforming.

Why Change Is Your Only Real Option

The famous business guru Peter Drucker talks about the progression of human cultures whereby we see society utterly reorganising itself – it’s worldview, values, political systems, social structures, arts… everything – completely different. He understood something profound: Cultures are living organisms. They reorganize. They shift. They evolve.

The Choice Is Simple:

• Adapt or become irrelevant

• Reinvent or disappear

• Transform or get left behind

The Painful Truth About Comfort

Human nature loves predictability. We cling to what worked before. But as Thom Rainer puts it, too often, "the pain of change is greater than the pain of ineffectiveness."

Translation? Staying comfortable is the most dangerous strategy.

Your Reinvention Checklist

Time to get ruthlessly honest with yourself. Ask:

• How relevant are my current approaches?

• What emerging trends could disrupt my world?

• Where are my blind spots?

The Challenge

Change isn't just a strategy. It's survival. We need to keep changing like we need to keep breathing.

Your Turn: In what area of your life are you resisting the inevitable transformation?

Because here's the thing: The greatest risk isn't changing.

It's staying exactly the same.