Better to start with a few than to wait for everyone!

Companies constantly deal with changes, but these changes are not as welcome among their employees! Whether it's due to new competitors, new customer needs, or regulations, the market environment of companies is constantly changing everywhere. Companies not only live with changes, but they actually survive through their continuous readiness for change. Just as Darwin said, it's not the most intelligent or the strongest who secures their existence, but rather those who adapt best to changes. However, changes are not always welcome! The majority of individuals affected by changes can at best be divided into positive participants or skeptical observers (estimates suggest that between 70 and 80 percent of all those affected fall into these categories), or they can even be real resistors or active blockers. While traditional leadership theories focus on the basic idea of "making all those affected participants" and use techniques such as department or company meetings, town hall meetings, etc., we prefer a more modern approach to managing changes that also aligns with the principles of agile management: viral change management. First and foremost, this approach is based on the Law of the Few, as formulated by Malcolm Gladwell in his 2000 bestseller "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference." According to this law, not all members of a group or team have the same influence, but rather individual members have a disproportionately large influence on bringing about changes. Just as a single sick person can start a flu epidemic, a small but precisely targeted push can start a fashion trend. Applying the Law of the Few to the implementation of company-wide changes, it becomes clear that changes are brought about by individuals and not by the masses. Therefore, the focus should be on the so-called visionaries and promoters, who have a disproportionately large influence on their environment. While you might not be able to build strong social connections with all those affected, the first supporters may be able to reach them better and more directly than you can. They convince others through appropriate language, personal approach, empathy, or simply through initial successes. The second pillar of the viral effect is the achievement of quick wins. All agile management methods emphasize the importance of achieving quick successes. These so-called quick wins are crucial for viral change management, as they convince passive participants and skeptical observers of the overall success of the change measures through initial small successes. The small successes of the initial supporters create the foundation to strengthen the trust of the large majority of all those affected in the change measures. In summary, viral change management can be formulated as follows: Think Big, Start Small, and Move Fast. Changes thrive on a fundamental vision of why and how they are necessary. The group of visionaries and promoters need to be "captured" with emotions and aspirations (think big). The change process starts with them (start small), and then, thanks to initial successes, further individuals are integrated into the change process in rapid succession, working on fast, tangible (partial) successes (move fast). In the best case scenario, even the resistors and blockers cannot avoid acknowledging the positive results of the previous measures and gradually integrating themselves more and more into this process.