Nov 20, 2025

Change Without Chaos: How I’ve Learned to Lead Transformation Without Losing What Works

I’ve always believed that transformation should be exciting, yet excitement without stability quickly turns into chaos. Over the years, I’ve been part of change efforts that breathed new life into organizations and others that left people wondering why we had changed anything at all. The difference rarely comes down to technology, process, or budget. It hinges on whether we respect what already works before introducing what’s new.

When leaders launch large-scale change, it’s tempting to focus entirely on the future state. We create ambitious roadmaps, build detailed business cases, and line up impressive technology partners. Most people inside the organization are asking a different question: How will this affect what I already do well?

This question is at the heart of my approach, because I’ve learned that change can and should protect the core of what makes a business successful. You don’t have to rip everything out to make progress. You can actually build on what’s strong while fixing what needs to improve. When you do, you preserve trust, which is the most important currency in any transformation.

Protect the Core Before You Add the New

Early in my career, I worked on a project where leadership wanted to overhaul nearly every operational system at once. The vision looked good on paper, yet it ignored the fact that some of our existing processes were performing exceptionally well. The team replaced them wholesale instead of identifying and preserving those strengths. The fallout was predictable: productivity dropped, morale suffered, and customers noticed the difference.

From that experience, I learned the value of starting every transformation by identifying “non-negotiables.” These are the systems, workflows, and cultural strengths that should remain untouched because they directly contribute to the organization’s success. From there, you can be aggressive about changing everything else.

At Argano, we apply this principle in every engagement. A fulfillment operation we helped modernize illustrates the point. We were introducing a new ERP platform, but instead of flipping the switch all at once, we phased the rollout. Each stage was tested against the business’s most critical functions to ensure nothing broke. Orders kept flowing and service levels remained high. And since the team saw we were protecting what mattered most, they embraced the new system instead of resisting it.

Culture Will Make or Break the Transformation

Even the best project plan will fail if the culture isn’t ready to support it. I’ve seen leaders pour resources into technology only to have adoption stall because people didn’t feel involved. Culture determines whether change feels like an opportunity or a threat.

For me, culture readiness starts with transparency. This means explaining not only what’s changing but why. People need to see the bigger picture and understand how it connects to their daily work. It also means making feedback loops real: ask for input, act on it, and show the impact.

At Argano, we've seen how this can flip the energy in a room. When people feel a transformation is happening with them rather than to them, something shifts: resistance gives way to curiosity, curiosity evolves into engagement, and engagement creates a self‑reinforcing cycle where the people closest to the work drive improvement. That's when you know the culture is truly on your side.

Sequencing Change is a Leadership Skill

One of the most overlooked elements of transformation is timing. Leaders often want to move fast to hit deadlines or show results, yet speed without sequencing can be dangerous. Introduce too much change at once and you overwhelm the very people who need to make it successful.

I’ve adopted what I call the “anchor and expand” approach. You anchor the transformation in areas of stability, whether that’s a well‑performing process, a respected leader, or a core value everyone shares. From that anchor, you expand change outward in deliberate, manageable waves. This approach gives people the psychological safety to adapt without feeling like the ground is shifting beneath them.

Sequencing is part of our playbook at Argano. We start with quick wins to build momentum, then scale up to more complex changes. It’s not about slowing down for the sake of caution. It’s about pacing the change so adoption can keep up with implementation. In my experience, transformations that respect this balance often move faster in the long run because they don’t have to circle back to fix resistance or undo rushed decisions.

The Real Goal: Change That Lasts

When I look back on the most successful transformations I've led, they all have one thing in common: the changes became part of how the organization worked, not a project that faded once the consultants left. This only happens when the people in the organization own the change.

Ownership doesn't come from executive memos or status meetings. It comes from trust, respect, and a shared belief that the change is worth making. When leaders protect the core, build cultural alignment, and sequence change with care, they create the conditions for transformation to stick.

Here's the paradox of transformation: The more you protect what matters, the more boldly you can change everything else. Organizations that understand this don't just complete transformations—they master the art of continuous evolution. At Argano, we build that mastery into every engagement.

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