TPS 2.0 · October 1, 2026
Leading Change
Lessons from Dr. Bell
Kevin Meuret · Sourced from Dr. Gerald Bell, Bell Leadership Institute
Why this session
Your plan isn't the problem.
The losses are.
Change is a human process, not a logistics problem. Lead the human process and the plan sticks. Ignore it and the best plan dies on contact.
Dr. Bell · The Laws of Change
- People don't change until results get bad — no one acts on plaque, they wait for the heart attack
- No one changes for long-term benefit — only short-term gain
- Behavior won't change until beliefs change — anything above the belief level is short-lived
- Every change creates gains and losses
The one law to remember
Change creators underestimate their people's losses by 5×
You sell the gains and minimize the losses — so people hate the messenger. They won't look at the gains until the losses are resolved. Self first, then company, then others.
Exercise 1 · ~6 min
Name the losses.
- Pick one real change you're driving right now
- List every loss your people feel: status, routine, relationships, competence, control
- Now multiply by 5 — what are you not seeing?
- Share one you missed with your table
Change → Losses → Grief
- 1 · Denial — change the facts so it won't affect them
- 2 · Anger / Blame — who caused this? rage at the unfairness
- 3 · Resignation — "I guess it's true." Stuck, not fighting
- 4 · Search — how does this hit me, my family, my job?
- 5 · Action / Acceptance — move forward, healthy
The leader's blind spot
You're already at acceptance.
They're still at denial.
Don't blow past their process. People execute the right actions while stuck in anger — that's compliance, not commitment. Going through the loss is what builds resilience.
Exercise 2 · ~5 min
Map your people.
- Same change. List your 3–5 key people
- Place each on a stage: Denial → Anger → Resignation → Search → Acceptance
- For each one behind acceptance: what do they need to move one stage?
Organizational Lag Theory
- CEO's idea — months
- "Project Falcon" team builds it — quarters
- Company-wide rollout — years
- By rollout, the team calls everyone else "idiots" and starts commanding
The team is at acceptance. Everyone else is just starting grief — where the team was a year ago.
The fix
Get participation from as many people as early as possible.
They process the change WITH you — not a year behind you.
The 4 Zones · lead here, not there
II · Excitement — ALL learning & change lives here
III · Stress — fear, mistakes, lost productivity
IV · Misery — shutdown, lose hope
Leading by fear pushes people to III & IV. Move avoiders slowly.
Expand the zone on purpose
- A big comfort zone = calm, clear-headed, good decisions anywhere
- Practice small: different route home, different chair at dinner
- Never hire someone without a proven track record of changing
- Watch the rigid "must-haves" person — miss one and they turn bitter
Two sharp tools
- Yellow Light Test — performers speed up when they sense change coming
- Negativity bias — criticism lands with 5× the impact of praise
Watch who accelerates at the yellow light. And weight your words — correction hits 5x harder than you mean it.
The commander's paradox
To create order and control, give people discretion.
People own what they create. Have employees write their own 10–15 most important duties — they buy into what they build. Over-control creates chaos, not order.
Three Levels of Self
- I · Surface — small talk
- II · Beliefs — attitudes, theories
- III · Core truth — real fears, the source of all motives
Lasting change lives at II–III. Don't interrogate — reflect back what they said in the "optimal listening position." Trust opens the door.
Why bad habits survive
Bad software → beliefs → behaviors → habits → myths
We keep bad habits because we're convinced they're good. You can't argue someone out of a habit — you have to reach the belief underneath it.
Lead change before it forces you
Evolve or revolve.
Innovation makes money, then efficiency — know when to jump curves. Watch the 8 sectors: customers, competitors, tech, economy, government, industry, stakeholders, culture. Woolworths closed 837 stores being out of touch.
So you can last
Live at 85%. Surge when it counts.
Your body can't tell over-performing from under-performing — both burn you out. Recovery is the game: life is a series of sprints, not a marathon. You have to earn your health.
Exercise 3 · ~3 min · Dr. Bell's 4 questions
Get honest.
- What have I done so far to move this change forward?
- Why hasn't it worked?
- What's holding me back?
- Who do I need support from?
Monday morning · commit to these
- Re-estimate the losses on your change — ×5
- Name each key person's grief stage
- Move one avoider one stage — by listening, not commanding
- Bring one more person in early — kill the lag
- Hand one person real discretion — let them own it
- Praise 5× to offset one correction
The whole talk in one line
Lead the losses. Hand over the ownership.
Source: Dr. Gerald Bell · Bell Leadership Institute
Kevin Meuret · TPS 2.0 · October 1, 2026
Dr. Bell · Bell Leadership Institute