Some of you will remember a series of advertisements a few years ago in which men with black eyes were depicted along with the line that they would “rather fight than switch.” Well, that’s pretty much the way it is in real life. Most people would rather fight than change. Asking people to change anything is like asking them to throw away a pair of comfortable, old slippers.
To understand how difficult it is to change people consider how hard it is to change yourself.
You change people by understanding them, not by bullying them.
People who don’t care about a problem won’t care about its solution.
In a rush to change things that aren’t working, we mustn’t change things that are.
All people aren’t persuaded by the same reasons.
Big changes are more easily digested when served in bite-sized pieces.
Before implementing a change we should always get the views of those who will be most affected by it.
Some people prefer old problems to new solutions.
People are usually apprehensive about change, so we need to find ways to make them feel less threatened.
In order to accept change, people need to be convinced they will be better off.
People are less likely to resist change when they know exactly what the results will be.
Every step along the road of change must be seen as worthwhile taking.
Changes worked on collectively always have a better chance of being accepted.
Change in response to success is a lot easier to achieve than change in response to failure.
Not everything we face can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
It’s hard to change everything at once; but a little change now may facilitate a big change later.
When trying to change the status quo, it’s important to remember that somebody is responsible for it; and it might be the person you’re talking to.
Most changes are accomplished by compromise.
There’s no point wasting time trying to convince the few who will never accept the change.
Old ways might be old for a very good reason.
The best way to change someone is to treat them as they could be, not the way they are.
Evolution is preferable to revolution.
Immortality is not a virtue in something that shouldn’t be.
We should keep old ways of doing things as long as they’re good; but we should introduce new ways as soon as they are better.
To change an attitude, you first have to find out what caused it.
Tell people a hundred times they can do something and they still may not believe you; show them once that they can and they’ll be convinced.
One generation can’t change a culture; it can only begin to change it.
There’s good and bad in every culture, when attempting to change it always start with the bad.
Trying to change people’s viewpoints when they’re worked up about something will only make them harden their positions.
There are two kinds of people who never change their minds; dead people and fools.
To begin something new you sometimes have to end something old.
Just because something is different doesn’t mean it is better.
When people don’t change, their past predicts their future.
Small changes are often the most enduring.