Ch-Ch-Changes

Change is one of those words that makes people lean in and pull back at the same time. We know it’s necessary—our teams, our products, and even our own habits can’t stay static—but we also know it’s messy. Bowie captured this tension perfectly in Changes: this song expresses feeling of confidence, hope, and a sense of immortality, and how time brings inevitable changes and the need to adapt. That lyric has been echoing in my mind throughout my career, especially in technology, where the “ch-ch-change” shows up daily.

In corporate America—especially in tech—change is constant. Reorganizations, layoffs, new methodologies, shifting frameworks…it’s a familiar rhythm. At the company where I lead today, those rhythms can feel relentless. As an experienced leader, I’m usually comfortable adapting, even when I wasn’t included in the decision or given a “why” that makes perfect sense. But when change turns into chaos—change for change’s sake—when people are treated in ways that make their jobs harder, when what is working is dismantled and culture is eroded, I often feel like I’m left cleaning up a mess I didn’t create.

So how do I move forward? My first instinct is to support my teams: listening deeply, making sure their questions, concerns, and ideas reach the decision-makers. That part comes naturally. But I also turn to research. As a technologist, I look to thought leaders I admire—people who teach how to implement change in a way that respects people and puts them above process, just as the Agile Manifesto reminds us.

Frances Frei: Move Fast & Fix Things
Harvard professor Frances Frei calls this “Move Fast & Fix Things.” Instead of the old Silicon Valley mantra of “move fast and break things,” Frei and Anne Morriss argue that we can move with urgency and strengthen the organization and its people at the same time.

It starts with trust—built through authenticity, logic, and empathy. If people don’t believe you’re real, don’t understand your reasoning, or don’t feel that you care, they won’t follow you anywhere—no matter how compelling your slide deck might be.

Frei’s playbook is clear:
• Empower more people to decide. Speed comes from pushing decisions closer to the work.
• Radical prioritization. Focus on the few problems that matter most and have the courage to say no to the rest.
• Powerful storytelling. Honor the past, explain why the change matters now, and paint a rigorous but hopeful path forward.

Simon Sinek: People Don’t Fear Change, They Fear the Unknown
Simon Sinek reminds us that people don’t actually fear change itself—they fear sudden, unexplained, purposeless change. What rattles us is uncertainty. His advice is deceptively simple:
• Communicate the why clearly and repeatedly.
• Involve people in shaping the journey.
• Allow time for a gradual evolution instead of abrupt announcements.
• Show empathy for the emotions that surface when routines are disrupted.

Jurgen Appelo: Dance with the System
Jurgen Appelo, in How to Change the World, describes organizations not as machines to be controlled but as complex social networks to be danced with. His Change Management 3.0 model blends four moves:

1. Dance with the system. Experiment and adapt using Plan–Do–Check–Act cycles.
2. Mind the people. Lift barriers with the ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement).
3. Stimulate the network. Behaviors spread like viruses—start with innovators and early adopters to reach a tipping point.
4. Change the environment. When you shift the context, you shift behavior.

Appelo calls this the Mojito Method—mixing the best ingredients from different sources to create something refreshing and uniquely effective.

Bringing It All Together
These perspectives overlap in powerful ways. Frei urges speed with trust. Sinek counsels empathy and purpose. Appelo teaches us to embrace complexity and iterate our way forward. Together they form a roadmap for leaders who want to move fast without breaking what matters.

For me, this means:
• Naming the purpose before the plan.
• Building trust daily through authenticity, logic, and empathy.
• Empowering decisions within the team instead of hoarding authority.
• Experimenting and adapting instead of clinging to a single grand strategy.
• Honoring the past so people feel seen even as we move forward.

Change will always be a part of life and can be complex. But when we lead with trust, empathy, and curiosity, we discover that moving fast doesn’t mean leaving people behind. It means inviting them to dance—and as Bowie reminds us, Time may change me, But I can't trace time.