My kids have recently rediscovered the magic of Star Wars.  When we were away camping in Maine a couple weeks ago, they, along with their cousins, broke out the light sabres and started duelling around the campsites… It was actually pretty fun to watch.

When we returned home, they spent their first two days reacquainting themselves with the 6 movies (in order… for the full effect of Anakin Skywalker’s transformation from young Jedi to Darth Vader).  When they were watching Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, I overheard one of Jedi Master Yoda’s most famous quotes…

“Fear is the path to the dark side.  Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”

According to one online source, this is his meaning (my abridged version):  “Negative emotions are a result of fear. Understanding what we are afraid of is where we begin to conquer fear, and therefore anger and hate.  If we look at the things we hate or that make us angry… and ask why, it will usually lead back to a lack of understanding, and in turn, fear of the unknown.”

You know, Yoda’s teachings on the force and the ways of the Jedi could easily be applicable to strategies for managing organizational change.  So much of our resistance to change is about fear of the unknown, uncertainty, lack of understanding… or anger about something we like being displaced or taken away.  And don’t forget the resentment felt toward those in leadership positions or in the roles of “change agents”.  If we focus more on addressing fear and anger, I’m certain we’ll see better success rates for change initiatives.

If we were to recast Yoda’s words into something like this…

“ambiguity leads to fear… fear leads to anger… anger leads to resentment… resentment leads to inertia… and inertia is the path to maintaining status quo (i.e. failure to change).”

… we might be able to put ideas together to really address the things at the heart of the matter when it comes to change.  And let me give you a hint – it ain’t requirements, specs or better features.  Think people, spirit, enthusiasm, and feelings…  That’s the stuff of change!

“Ambiguity is the path to the status quo.”