Change Management Lessons from My Portable Blender

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I’d like to introduce you to the Six Sources of Influence model for change management. Out of the many change management models that I’ve seen, I have found the Six Sources of Influence to be one of the best change management frameworks available. Many more people could benefit from learning this model because Crucial Learning has not marketed it as a change management framework! Our ability to make changes is dependent on our ability to influence.

“Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” – John C. Maxwell

But first let’s start with a story.

How did my blendjet help me change?

I like to exercise in the morning. I used to skip breakfast even after I exercised but because I’m getting older, I started drinking protein shakes after exercising; just a cup of non-dairy milk with a scoop of protein powder mixed together. Quick and easy. 

I remember thinking to myself, it would be nice to make a smoothie instead with some frozen fruit and ice added to my protein shake. But I was too lazy to bother with this. I own a nice Vitamix blender which is great at making smoothies, but it is bulky, and I don’t want it sitting out on the kitchen counter all the time so I barely use it.

Recently my mom and I were shopping at Costco when we saw they had blendjet portable blenders on sale. It came in a pack of two; she wanted one and my daughter was interested in getting one too plus it was a really good price at less than $25 per blender – sold! For you Costco members, you know how it is. We often leave Costco buying things we never thought of getting. Often enough, these end up being really good purchases which is what I think keeps me going back to Costco. But I digress… So, I started making fruit smoothies with this little blendjet mixer and loved it! It was perfect for a single serving, since I was the only one drinking it in the morning. It was a breeze to clean up. I didn’t mind it sitting next to the sink every day either since it was so small. A $25 purchase caused me to eat healthier in the morning for the foreseeable future.

What can we learn about change management from this?

According to Crucial Learning, developers of the Six Sources of Influence model, there are three avenues of impacting change – personal, social, and structural. Often, we focus too much on the personal aspects and neglect the social or structural aspects. This results in failed change initiatives.

The Impact of Structural Influences on Change

So how did my portable mixer help me change my behavior? The blendjet was a positive structural influence. The existing system/structure I had (heavy, bulky Vitamix) was enough of an impediment to discourage me from making a positive change (healthier fruit smoothies for breakfast).

The question we should be asking ourselves when it comes to structural changes is not are there systems/structures in place that allow someone to adopt the new behavior but rather how easy have we made it to adopt a new behavior? What else can be done from a structural standpoint to nudge people towards the positive change?

“If you want people to behave differently, the environment needs to change.” – Laslo Bock

When you address the structural aspects that inhibit change, this will also impact the social and personal aspects of influence. As an example, this is why organizational structure can sometimes get in the way of collaboration if it is not designed to allow people to easily interact across departments. My personal ability to make smoothies increased with this structural change. Now I had a second device to choose from. As a result of the ease of making smoothies with the blendjet, my personal motivation to want to continue doing this also increased.  

Notice that ability and motivation are frequently linked. When someone is not able to do something, they may not be motivated to even try. However, once we increase ability, motivation often follows.

If you have an initiative or project that you are rolling out, besides providing training and communication, what other things can you do from a structural standpoint to increase the rate of adoption? Remember than Excellence = Quality x Acceptance. If there is low acceptance and the rate of adoption is low, your project or initiative will fail. For example, does your workplace have healthy lifestyle programs that encourage employees by reducing their health insurance? e.g., reward system for fitness tracker or annual test results. How easy or difficult is it for people to sign-up for these programs? The easier it is to sign-up (ability) and the larger the financial incentive (motivation), the higher the rate of adoption will be.

Check out some of my earlier blogs to learn more about impactful Change Management Frameworks, including the personal and social aspects of the Influencer framework, and the Formula for Excellence. If you found this useful, please share this article with others.You can also subscribe below to be notified of new content.