Research, perspective, and provocation on what AI-driven change actually requires — and why most organisations are approaching it wrong.
From the forthcoming book
This book is for the HR director who was handed the AI implementation because nobody else wanted it. For the union president whose members are frightened and haven’t been asked. For the president who knows the timeline is a recipe for failure but doesn’t have the language to say so.
Nick Anderson & Dr. Ken Trzaska — Publishing Spring 2027
About the book →Latest — Not Without the People Series
Every organisation has a history of change. Most of that history is failure. And the people in the room remember it.
Every failed change leaves scar tissue. It is stiffer, less elastic, and forms exactly where the wound was. That is what you are working with when you announce your next change. You believe you are addressing healthy tissue. You are not.
Read the article“It is not resistance under your feet. It is scar tissue. Some of it you made. The rest you inherited the day you took the job.”
From the articles
The workforce isn’t the problem. The sequence is the problem.
Stop Calling It “Resistance”
Read the article
Trust in management is the only variable that significantly reduces change resistance. Not incentives. Not mandates. Trust.
Getting Turkeys Excited About Thanksgiving
Read the article
Training informs, but coaching transforms. Without it, people attend the workshop, nod enthusiastically, then return to doing exactly what they’ve always done.
The Hidden Cost of the Coaching Deficit
Read the article
Four questions. Four disciplines. An honest read of where you are — and what to focus on next.
Discipline 1 — Listening
Discipline 2 — Clarity
Discipline 3 — Patience
Discipline 4 — Focus
On change, trust, and what fifty Tuesdays might be for.
The failure rate has been stubbornly consistent for two decades. This is the conversation about why — and what actually works instead.
Every organisation has a history of change. Most of it is failure. The people in the room remember.
The cynicism you meet when you announce something new is not resistance. It is memory. And it is scar tissue you are standing on.
A claim from one consultant is an opinion. This is not one consultant.
Six thousand comments. Nineteen sectors. The same failure described in almost the same words across forty countries.
The one variable that actually reduces resistance — and the only one that isn’t yours to give.
Trust in management was the only factor that significantly reduced resistance. One thing, doing more than everything else combined.
The convenient diagnosis that’s kept us stuck for twenty years.
Resistance isn’t the cause of failure. It’s a symptom. And the cause is largely upstream — manufactured by the leaders running the change.
Twenty years. Billions spent. A failure rate that refuses to move.
In 2003, 60–70% of change initiatives failed. In 2026, 60–70% still fail. The number has not moved. Here is why that matters.
When 77% of employees say AI has created more work, not less — that’s not resistance. That’s feedback.
After 30 years and 80 countries, the same pattern appears every time. The workforce isn’t the problem. The sequence is.
You’re asking people to enthusiastically embrace something they believe might eliminate their jobs. Good luck with that.
60% of change resistance originates from poor leadership — not from the people being asked to change. Here’s how to build the trust that actually moves people.
Reimagining Consulting for the AI Age
Gone are the days of static PowerPoint decks and one-size-fits-all solutions. Welcome to the era of Living Strategy, where your organisation’s future unfolds in real-time.
Why the Most Critical Success Factor Gets Only 1% of Our Attention
Coaching ranked dead last in priority surveys at just 1.0% — despite being universally acknowledged as essential to successful behaviour change. This isn’t an oversight. It’s a strategic blind spot.
Research shows the fear of job loss can be as damaging as actual job loss.
The difference between thriving and surviving organisations during disruption comes down to how leaders show up before, during and after the storm.
Making Work More Satisfying Through AI-Enabled Thinking
Trust is the only variable that significantly reduces change resistance. This finding transforms how we should approach AI adoption — from a technology rollout into an opportunity to reimagine satisfying work.
Read the full argument — and the methodology behind it.