Over the past month I have attended more user conferences than I can count. At every single one of them there are presentations and panel discussions about change management particularly for law firms.

I haven’t practiced law full time for a bit and have kind of lost the need for all this focus on change management. I forgot how hard it is for lawyers, and anyone else to change. I was quick to conclude lawyers are Luddites who are just being obstinate when they resist change. As for me, I was sure I could change in a heartbeat if need be. I don’t need no management.

Can You Guess Where This Is Going?

I travel a lot. I walk a fair amount. For years, even though I’m right-handed I kept my cell phone in my left pocket. So when I get off a plane and wanted to check my emails etc, I would pull out the phone with my left hand which was closest to the pocket. I would pull my roller bag with my right hand. I would do the same when out exercising or doing anything else.

But when I take out my phone I inevitably don’t just read something, I want to do something. Which meant I would clumsily fumble around with my phone with my left hand since I’m right-handed. So, I would usually stop, change the phone to my right hand, shift the roller bag to my left hand and do what I was going to do on the phone. 

Then I would stop again to shift my phone back to my left hand to put it in my pocket and the bag back to my right. I even put most of the icons I needed to get to on the left side of the phone’s screen. Which was pretty silly since I usually switched to my right hand to use them anyway. (I know, wouldn’t it be easier to just stop walking, do the work and then start again? That’s a discussion for another day).

I know. You’re thinking this guy is kinda dumb

I know. You’re thinking this guy is kinda dumb. I wonder how long he will do this before it dawns on him to move his phone to his right hand pocket. That will certainly make his life easier plus lower the risk of dropping the phone during all these transitions.

Well, this guy may be dumb but he’s not a complete idiot. It did recently occur to him that he needed to change the pocket he keeps his phone in. It should be simple and easy. 

Here’s what happened. At first, he kept putting everything including his phone in his left pocket and nothing in his right. His body tilted left. OK. Just a question of determination, right? Got to be more purposeful.

So he mindfully began putting the phone in his right pocket and then happily left home An hour later: Oh my God. Where’s the phone? It’s not in the left pocket where it always is. Where did he leave it? Must be at home or in the room. Have to go back to get it.

He goes home. It’s not there! Panic. What will he do with no phone. Suddenly there’s a vibration in his right hand pocket. Wtf? Ahh it’s the phone! How’d it get there? Oh. Yeah.

He answers the call and sets down the phone. He breathes a sigh of relief. Gotta be more purposeful. 

Off he goes to work a second time. He’s proud of himself for his change management.

An hour later it again occurs to him that his phone’s not in his left pocket. But that’s right, not to worry. It’s in his right pocket. Except it’s not. It’s back at home where he set it when he finished his call. Back he goes. Again.

He goes to sleep congratulating his ability to deal with change.

Finally. He has his phone in his right pocket. The other stuff in his left pocket. Only a couple of dents to his phone. He goes to sleep congratulating his ability to deal with change.

The next day, off to the airport. Phone safely in right pocket. Everything else in left. Except he’s still pulling his roller bag with his right hand. The phone rings. Crap, have to move roller bag to left hand. In doing so the bag hit his left foot. Down goes Frazier! At least he didn’t drop his phone this time.

The Challenge of Change

That my friends is change management in action. All too often we offer the platitude change but forgot exactly why it’s hard. I forgot that I had trained myself to reach for my phone in my left pocket. Reprogramming my brain wasn’t simple and required getting hit with obstacles and some stubbed toes.

James Clear in his book Atomic Habits says to create a new habit takes time. To create a new habit requires making the new one obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying. I thought moving the phone was simply all these things. It wasn’t. Not because the move wasn’t obvious. Not because it wasn’t attractive, easy or satisfying. It should have been all these things. But it wasn’t, Not because of logic but because of habit.

The change should be obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying on paper but in reality, it’s not going to be

And that’s the challenge of change management. The change should be obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying on paper but in reality, it’s not going to be. And it’s not going to be pain free. If someone had said to me, good idea to switch, Steve, but just so you know, you are going to have a few setbacks along the way so be ready. But once you get used to the phone in the right-hand pocket, it really will be obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying.

Another thing I noticed. When you change one thing, it’s not only going to impact that one thing. Like the proverbial stone dropped in water, one change is going to have ripple effect and require other changes and ways of doing things. It may impact something else you do just like it did with my roller bag. Change is complicated because of this.

Why Share This Embarrassing Saga?

Every conference I go to there’s talk about how lawyers and law firms will need to change due to AI. And that they don’t seem to get the need to adopt AI tools sooner than later. That they need to change. I’ve said the same thing over and over.

But what’s lost in the discussion is frankly empathy

But what’s lost in the discussion is frankly empathy.  As my little phone debacle shows even very simple change is hard and complicated.  Some uncomfortable things are going to happen. And changing one thing may mean changing a bunch of other things that the change agent hasn’t even thought of.

And when we talk about AI and technical changes, we are talking change on an enormous and complicated scale. We are talking about changes with countless ripples, disrupting years of training, culture and experience. We aren’t just talking dropping phones and roller bags. We are talking changes the overall impact of which we can’t even predict.

Let’s Walk in Their Shoes

To effectuate change like this, we have to be realistic, we have to expect unpredictable speed bumps and ripples. We have to give them and ourselves the grace to fail. We have to give people time. 

So let’s keep talking about AI and change but let’s also put ourselves in the shoes of those we are trying to change. Let’s remember what we are asking them to do. We are asking them to not only change part of what they do. We are asking them to change part of who they are.

Now. Where’s my damn phone???