Until the 1980s, change within companies was usually dictated from the top. The CEO made the decision, and the middle and bottom levels implemented it. The underlying values were control, consistency and predictability. The result: employees often did not know why something was being changed and also did not understand what was expected of them in the future. With the growing importance of psychology in business studies, a new approach to change emerged. Employees were no longer expected to submissively obey ('Of course!'), but to think for themselves ('Why are we doing that?'). The point was: change has to be understood if it is to be carried out effectively. Change management has developed into a discipline in its own right; today there are hundreds of models that deal with the subject, including pioneering ones like John Kotter's eight-stage model. But what most of them don't take account of is that change is rarely a painless process. Because change presupposes movement, which leads to friction. Friction causes pain. Every change - whether in a private or wider context - requires sacrifice and effort.

The Change Book