The Human Element: Overcoming Resistance To New Ideas and Influencing Leadership – David Schonthal, Kellogg
How can we get people to buy into our ideas? It’s a challenge that any person who wants to have impact within their organization confronts daily. For CSOs, the ability to skillfully overcome the influence challenge is arguably one of the most important skills we must hone. Creating value depends on our ability to influence leadership to consider and embrace new approaches, mindsets, and technologies (e.g., digital transformation, AI, strategic mindsets).
In this roundtable, David Schonthal—entrepreneur, investor and Clinical Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management—will unpack for us best practices pulled from his soon-to-be published research for overcoming resistance to new ideas and change.
Based on theories from his new upcoming book, The Human Element, David breaks down how most entrepreneurs and innovators focus solely on fuel: the attractive forces that make us gravitate toward adopting a product or idea. Where they miss the mark is neglecting the frictions: the psychological forces that work against new ideas and innovation. From this roundtable, you’ll learn:
- The problems that stem from focusing only on fuel and neglecting frictions
- The Four Frictions that innovators face:
- Inertia: The powerful desire to stick with what we know, despite the limitations
- Effort: The energy (real and perceived) needed to make change happen
- Emotion: The unintended negative emotions created by the very change we seek
- Reactance: The impulse to resist being changed
- Practical ways to overcome the barriers in each of these frictions to get people to adopt your perspective or ideas
Members will receive an advance copy of The Human Element book.
