Real and lasting change requires two things before anything else: ownership and commitment. Ownership means accepting that change is necessary, taking personal responsibility for seeing it through, and believing it's worth the pain. Commitment is what ownership looks like in action: investing the time (more than you think), the energy (including the hard conversations), and the resources required to see it all the way through. Without both of these in place first, no strategy, software, or framework will ever stick. Change starts with you before it can ever take root in your business.
Most business owners have tried to implement something new and watched it fail. A new CRM nobody used. A new process that lasted three weeks. A culture shift that never actually shifted. And the instinct is to blame the software, the process, the timing, or the team. But the real reason change fails almost always traces back to the same place: the person leading it didn't have ownership and commitment locked in before they started.
This is the first episode in a three-part arc on implementing change. I've led change across e-commerce, CRM rollouts, brand transformations, culture shifts, hiring processes, EOS implementation, and client boundary resets over the course of my career. The consistent lesson across all of it is that change is a people problem before it's a process problem, and it starts with the leader's mindset before it starts with anyone else's behavior.
- The pain of staying the same has to feel worse than the pain of changing before real change can begin. That's the threshold that ownership crosses.
- Change doesn't fail because the software was wrong. It fails because the people leading it didn't bring the right mindset and commitment to making it work.
- Ownership means three things: accepting that change is required, taking personal responsibility for making it happen, and believing the outcome is worth the effort.
- Commitment is ownership translated into action: investing your time, your energy, and your resources, knowing it will take longer and cost more than you initially expect.
- Time with people is the majority of the work in any change effort. If you think you can issue an order and check back next week, the change will not stick.
- Every successful change builds confidence to tackle the next one. The first one I ever implemented was retraining our own clients on better boundaries, and it took almost a year.
- Change starts with you. What got you to this point won't get you to where you need to go, and that applies to how you're leading before it applies to anyone else.
Why do most attempts to implement change in a small business fail?
Because the leader starts with the thing being changed, the software, the process, the structure, rather than with themselves. Most failed implementations can be traced back not to a bad choice of tool or strategy, but to the leader not having genuine ownership and commitment before they started asking others to change.
I've implemented change across e-commerce systems, CRMs, brand transformations, culture shifts, hiring processes, and EOS frameworks. The consistent lesson across every single one of those is that change is a people problem before it's a process problem. You can put the best CRM in the world in front of a team that isn't bought in and watch it collect dust.
The biggest lesson I've learned when it comes to implementing change is that it's not about the software, it's not about the strategy, it's not about the framework, it's not about the technology or the process. It's about intention and it's about people more than any of the other things.
Amy Dardis, Episode 9The second most common reason change fails is impatience. Leaders underestimate how long real change takes, especially when people are involved. They issue a directive, check back a week later, see it hasn't happened, and either force it too hard or quietly abandon it. Neither produces lasting change.
What does it mean to take ownership of a change effort?
Ownership has three parts. First, accepting that change is actually required, that what got you here won't get you where you need to go. Not just intellectually acknowledging it, but feeling the weight of it enough that staying the same feels worse than going through the hard work of changing.
Second, taking personal responsibility for the outcome. Not blaming the software if it doesn't work, not blaming the team if they resist, not blaming the timing if it's slow. If this change doesn't stick, it's because of something in how you led it. That's a heavy mindset to carry but it's the one that actually produces results.
Third, believing it's worth it. That there is something on the other side of this effort that justifies the discomfort and the resistance and the slow progress. Without that belief, the first major obstacle will send you back to where you started.
You're owning and accepting the fact that change is required. You are at an intersection, and you are recognizing that the pain of staying the same is now worse than the pain of changing.
Amy Dardis, Episode 9How do I actually commit to a change effort without letting it fall apart?
Commitment shows up in three things: your time, your energy, and your resources.
Time is the biggest one. No lasting change happens overnight, and when you're dealing with people, you have to give them time and grace to move through hesitation to acceptance. The majority of your time in any change effort should be in conversations with people, not in configuring the system. If you think you can roll something out and check back in a month, you'll be surprised how little has changed.
Energy means being intentional, not just present. Having the hard conversations when resistance comes up rather than ignoring it. Following up. Staying consistent when it would be easier to let things slide. The opposition is part of the process, not a sign that the change is wrong.
Resources means committing what it actually takes: the budget for the software, the time for the training, the attention to keep reinforcing it until it's no longer new. The leaders who pull back resources when the going gets hard are the same leaders whose change efforts fail.
My example is retraining our own clients on better boundaries after years of scope creep and over-delivery. It took almost a year from starting the process to feeling like every client was operating under the same expectations. But at the end, there was simplicity, consistency, and the ability to make decisions without second-guessing.
How do I know when I'm actually ready to lead a real change in my business?
You're ready when the pain of staying the same feels worse than the pain of changing. Not when someone told you that you need to change. Not when you read about a better way. When you can feel, specifically, what staying on the current path is going to cost you, and that cost is no longer acceptable.
You're ready when you're willing to own the outcome. When you can say, if this fails, it won't be because I didn't give it everything. When you're not looking for someone or something to blame if it's hard or slow or meets resistance.
And you're ready when you have a clear picture of what you're working toward. My point is that knowing exactly what you're trying to build on the other side of the change is what sustains you through the hard middle. Without that picture, the first season of opposition will feel like a reason to stop.
Start small if you're not sure. My first change effort was resetting client expectations after years of saying yes to everything. It wasn't glamorous. It took a year. But it built the confidence and the understanding to tackle everything that came after it.
Resources mentioned
- Free Brand Clarity Resources — Downloads to help you build the systems and processes that make change stick
- Traction by Gino Wickman — Mentioned in this episode, including EOS framework implementation
- Ep 4 — How to Align Your People, Processes, and Messaging
- Ep 5 — How to Build Accountability to Protect Your Brand and Culture
Full transcript
I'm your host, Amy Dardis. And in today's episode, we are talking about what is required to implement real and lasting change. This is the first episode in a three-episode arc on implementing change. Whether you're trying to fix your culture, improve your processes, upgrade technology, or roll out a new system, the success of that change really comes down to two things: ownership and commitment. Without these, no strategy, software, or framework will ever stick.
Change is something that, ironically enough, I really enjoy. I enjoy implementing change. It's something I've had a lot of experience with. I find it fascinating. I think there are so many different dynamics and elements to making it happen, and so many reasons that it fails. Over the next three episodes, we're going to be talking about what's required to make it stick, what's involved, how we do it, what to expect, and how to deal with the obstacles that come up.
Change is important because we have to evolve, we have to grow, we have to change. We change as individuals, and technology changes, business changes, expectations change. Part of continuing to grow healthy, strong, purpose-driven brands is being able to implement change within your entire organization.
A few different areas I've had experience implementing change. Technology: I had to not only build it and figure out how all the pieces worked together from front-end operations to back-end operations to what different elements had to talk to each other, but then I had to implement it. I had to teach internal employees a new process and get them on board. There was a lot of resistance and hesitation going from an old way of doing business to embracing a new way, as well as the same for customers, introducing them to the fact that they could now order a different way.
CRM, I have implemented new CRM technologies. Brand transformations, entire culture shifts going from disorganized and dysfunctional to implementing the clarity, alignment, and accountability framework to build healthy, strong brands that are cohesive and working together. Incorporating new messaging, building out and even changing reputation processes, implementing processes from scratch or changing existing ones. In some cases I came in and nothing existed, so it was a matter of implementing things for the first time. In other cases, we used to do it this way and now we're going to do it differently.
Also retraining my own clients from when I first started a brand, having bad habits and bad boundaries, creating my own monsters because I was so eager to please. Then realizing that long term that was not sustainable. Having to go back and retrain clients I had trained incorrectly on expectations, on delivery, on communication practices, while implementing new processes for new clients going forward. And implementing new strategy and structure: the EOS framework, new strategic planning processes, new goal-setting processes, defining brand new roles within a business, brand new structure of how different seats reported to each other.
All of these areas I've gotten to experience firsthand and lead the charge in most of them. And it's something I enjoy. I think it's fascinating, I think it's challenging, I think it's stimulating. Most people hate this, and we'll talk about why. But I happen to like it, and it is so important and so powerful. If we know how to implement change in our business, then there is nothing we can't do.
But the biggest lesson I've learned when it comes to implementing change is that it's not about the software, it's not about the strategy, it's not about the framework, it's not about the technology or the process. The biggest thing about implementing change is that it's about intention and it's about people more than any of the other things. If we can wrap our head around intention and people and think about those as really being the doors that we need to unlock, that's what ends up making change successful.
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is thinking that change fails because the software was bad or the process wasn't right. There's an element to finding the right thing to implement for your business, but it comes more down to how you go about it and the amount of focus, time, and intention you spend on the people aspect versus all of the other aspects.
Before we get change to stick, if you are the person in charge of implementing something new, we're going to talk about two big things that have to happen before any of the other things: ownership and commitment. Under this ownership umbrella are really three main points. One, you're owning and accepting the fact that change is required. You are at an intersection, and you are recognizing that the pain of staying the same is now worse than the pain of changing. Because we know that change is painful and it will be hard. But you recognize that you cannot stay the same. What got us here, what got us to this point, it won't get us to where we need to go.
Whether that's outdated processes built for a smaller business when the business is now bigger, or changing dynamics with different roles or departments or customers requiring flexibility. Recognizing that you have to adapt and innovate because outside forces are forcing you to, whether it's the market or the technology or the direction you're trying to move in. Or maybe you recognize that dysfunction and toxicity have been allowed to breed, you have wrong people in wrong roles, resentment, high turnover, low performance, and if you just keep doing what you're doing, it's not sustainable.
The first thing is just understanding that no matter what, change is required and we have to do something. The next part of ownership is understanding that you own this responsibility. When it comes to whether or not this change is implemented successfully, you're saying: this is on me. This is my job. I own this responsibility, I own this effort, and I am willing to take that on. I'm not going to blame it on the technology or the process or anything. I am personally taking this on. If this change doesn't take root, it won't be because I didn't give it everything I've got.
The third element of ownership is: I believe this is worth it. I'm taking ownership, I'm going to embrace the pain, I'm going to embrace the hard. I recognize this is going to be difficult and the battle is going to be uphill, but I believe this is worth it because I know there is something coming on the other side that's going to make everything I'm going through worth the effort. This means taking on a posture of humility and reflection and discipline. I don't know everything I need to know right now. I'm at the beginning of a learning curve. But through it all, I'm going to be open-minded and I'm going to continue to reflect and analyze everything I'm learning along the way. I'm going to force myself through the hard things. I'm going to be disciplined, and I'm not going to give up.
This mindset, believing it's worth it, this posture of humility and openness, is going to lead you to new thoughts and new behaviors and new actions. We're transformed by the renewing of our mind. So we start with this mindset phase: in my head, I know I can't keep doing what I've been doing. I know change has to happen. I know that I am going to be the one leading this charge. And I believe this is going to be worth it. Because the reason you're doing this is for the greater good of your people and your company. You're implementing this change for a better world, for a better brand, for a better impact. You're acknowledging that, and you're embracing it.
That mindset is what fuels your commitment. Commitment is the action. You have what's in your brain, your thoughts, your mindset, and then you have what you actually do about it. Commitment is the follow-through, it's the actions that bring validation to your words and your thoughts. It's committing to hold yourself accountable against all the excuses that are going to come your way in order to see the transformation you want to see in your company.
Commitment looks like three things. First, committing to invest your time. Making the time and taking the time necessary to see real change. No true and lasting change happens overnight. Anytime you're dealing with people, you have to give them grace and time to change, and that's a process. Being realistic about your timeline and your expectations. Most of this time is with the people process, helping them get from hesitation and resistance to acceptance and confidence. Give so much time at the beginning. You can't have this excuse in your head that says I don't have time, or that it should happen faster. Just expect it to be slow and expect it to consume a lot of your time for a while before it gets to the point where it's kind of going on its own.
The second thing you're going to have to commit to is investing your energy. Not only in the time aspect, but in being intentional about the conversations you have, about the processes you're implementing, about the routines and rhythms and communication and discipline. Even having uncomfortable conversations, because you will face resistance and you will face opposition, and that's a part of it. We can't just ignore it or avoid it. We have to be willing to invest ourselves to deal with it and address it.
The third part is investing your resources: putting the resources towards what it takes to see it through. Whether that's investment in the new software, the technology, the new process, investment in the time for training, or additional rewards, or just more thought towards how do I really make this successful? When you do this, that is your part. Change starts with you before it can ever come to fruition and come to life within your business. How we look at it and our willingness to address it is going to drastically impact how permanent and lasting it becomes.
When it happens, when you take this ownership and this commitment, the transformation does follow. You grow as a person, as a leader. Through the process of actually doing this, you're creating trust, creating innovation, making room for new opportunity. It is building your team to go through implementing change. Even though they will go kicking and screaming, most of them, at the end they will look back and be thankful for it because they changed along the process. Your team changed along the process. And you build confidence and conviction as a leader through it.
I've done e-commerce and CRM and people processes and culture shifts and marketing strategies and brands, but every single one of those things built my confidence and my understanding to tackle another thing and then another thing. I didn't implement all those changes at once. It all started with little things. The very first small thing I did to implement change was retraining my own clients on better processes, because I had messed up the first time. I wanted to please everybody, so I bent over backwards and did a bunch of scope creep and said yes to everything and didn't charge accordingly. I built up an expectation that I needed to reply instantly all the time, evenings, weekends, because that's what you do as a new business owner eager to prove yourself.
But then I realized that the more clients you get, you cannot sustain that. So we had to re-clarify and write out new processes: this is how we're going to operate, these are our boundaries, this is the timeframe it takes us to respond, this is where support requests need to go, this is how we do our billing, this is how we bid projects. We had to implement that with new clients going forward, but then we had to go back and reestablish new and better boundaries with existing clients. That process took almost a year from starting it to feeling like all of our clients, whether newer or older, were following the same processes.
That was such a good feeling. There was simplicity, consistency, everybody held to the same standards and expectations. We weren't playing favorites one way or the other. We could make decisions and move forward knowing we had systems and processes in place. And that was the first time I realized, wow, this is possible. It's not easy, but it was worth it, because I knew that what we were doing at the time was not sustainable going forward.
A lot of that change really just had to do with the people aspect of it, recognizing that one, ownership was on me. I had messed it up to begin with. But then I was committed: no matter how long it takes, I know that a year down the road, two years down the road, I will thank me for having done this now. And that was the very first time I had tackled implementing change in some way. That built up confidence for tackling change in all the other areas.
If we don't have ownership and commitment at the beginning, whatever change we're trying to make, whether it's culture, processes, structure, or strategy, it won't be successful without those things first. Without us as individuals changing our mindset and our actions. Because what got us there, that was a previous version of ourselves, a less wiser version, that led us to where we are. We've learned and we've grown. And if we can see clearly what it is that we're working towards, that is so important. Then knowing that it's this or bust. If it fails, it'll be because God closed that door, not because I didn't give it everything I had.
When we learn how to implement change, then everything can change. It builds confidence, excitement, and motivation as a leader and as an entrepreneur instead of feeling stuck, feeling like everything controls us, feeling like we're just spinning on a hamster wheel. Knowing that it's possible for us to change our life and change our business sets us free. It helps us step into the next thing we need to without being trapped by what has held us back. As always, you can learn more at clearauthenticbrands.com. That's all for this episode, and make sure to tune in for the next episode on what to expect when implementing change and how to actually do it. See you next time.