It is about eleven times as easy to start something as it is to stop something

The biggest reason change initiatives fail isn't because organisations can't start something new. It's because they can't stop doing the old. 

I've read that it's about eleven times as easy to start something as it is to stop something.

Most organisations are very good at launching new initiatives.

• A new strategy.

• A new technology.

• A new structure.

• A new policy.

The assumption is simple: adding something new will fix the problem and improve performance.

Psychologists call this "addition bias" which is our natural tendency to solve problems by adding rather than subtracting. Research suggests we instinctively look for what we can introduce, often overlooking what we could remove.

That helps explain why so many organisations become overwhelmed.

Instead of replacing old ways of working, we simply layer the new on top of the old. A new program. A new building. A new organisation.

Nothing stops.

Workloads increase.

Complexity grows.

People become fatigued. The promised benefits of change never fully materialise.

In my experience, organisations rarely fail because they lack good ideas. They fail because they lack the discipline to let go of yesterday's work. Of ideas and programs that have reached their use-by-date.

Sometimes the system needs fixing before another initiative is launched. 

Sometimes the real answer is more investment, better integration or clearer priorities, not another program layered on top of everything else.

Every new initiative and every business case should come with one simple question:

What are we going to stop doing?

Change leadership isn't just about setting a new direction. It is about creating the capacity to move in that direction.

Effective change isn't built through endless addition. It is built through intentional subtraction.

Hoping this resonates with your experience of change.