The Cognitive Dissonance Challenge: Breaking Barriers to Change in Manufacturing
- Andrew Bissot
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
Change is inevitable in any manufacturing organization. Change will inevitably result in better or worse. Blind Melon sings about change. Malcolm Gladwell challenges you to choose the door that says "change," especially if it is a decision between changing or doing what you are currently doing. Countering, change is routinely accompanied by fear and resistance that languishes in a sump of doubt and foreshadowing regrets.
Whether adopting the latest AI, implementing a change to improve safety, or overhauling a process to complement lean thinking, an organization must change to remain competitive. Yet, despite the aspirations and benefits of adopting a change, a sluggish transition to the alternatives will fail or stall. Not because of technical barriers or the desire to be better. But because of cognitive dissonance. Remind me. Where is Polaroid?
The risk of not changing is more significant. Gladwell suggests that our success in any endeavor diminishes as we continue to do the same thing — if we don’t change, we will eventually stall. The risk of not changing is more considerable than doing something different. K. Joseph, Medium
Now is not the time to quit
Cognitive dissonance occurs when individuals experience the discomfort that comes from change. It is the persuasion to accept what is comfortable. It is the pondering of forfeiture in the storming stage in Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development. It is the moment when individuals realize this is uncomfortable, and we drift to consider just quitting. It is a self-prescribed embarrassment from a dismal first-half performance, yet knowing that you still have to get back on the court in the second half.
“Don’t you know what adversity is all about? That’s the f***ing game of life, not the game of basketball. You don’t f***ing get down when things go wrong. You dig in and get tougher. Your whole life is going to be adversity. Learn how to f***ing deal with it.” Rick Pitino at halftime of St. John’s had to overcome a 13-point deficit to beat Providence
Cognitive dissonance occurs when individuals experience discomfort due to a conflict between their existing beliefs and new information or changes. Accompanied by adversity, conflict, or challenges, this happens personally and within a professional career. In a manufacturing environment, this might manifest as:
Resistance to adopting a new technology: “This is how we have always done it.”
Fear of responsibilities being reassigned: “You are obsoleting my job.”
Skepticism about a new process: “Here we go again. We have tried that before.”
Challenge: Break the cognitive dissonance
Instead, the challenge is to run towards the court out of the locker room down 12 in the second half. The challenge is to find the motivation within Roosevelt’s The Arena to realize you have the opportunity to face a problem that no one else would dare. The mindset is that this problem is just the fuel for the next one, and it is time to earn your fuel. This is simply another challenge to place the next stone on. F*** this problem! This one is easy compared to the next one.
"Sir, do you know they’ve cut us off? We’re entirely surrounded.” “Those poor bastards,” Puller said. “They’ve got us right where we want ’em. We can shoot in every direction now.”― Burke, Davis - Marine!: The Life of Chesty Puller.
In your organization, where does cognitive dissonance limit you or your organization's ability to change? As a metaphor, is it a single cancer in the form of an individual, process, or asset? Is it someone who is complacent or disconnected from reality and glorifies the past while deflecting the vision of a future? Or is it you? Is it your perspective or angle, where you are not gifting the patience to see the other’s perspective? Is it a team more focused on communication versus a conversation? Ask yourself and your team:
Where is the root of the resistance to the change?
What beliefs or assumptions are the foundation of the resistance?
How can we align on a single message, action, or goal to reduce the discomfort of change?
Galactic says, "All of y'all better dance at my funeral." So make that ripple. Write down your daring changes. Then a month later, look at it, and write down what scared you about the change. Then a few months later, write what you learned from that experience. Then looking back at this log of fuel, you will have the foundation to get you through the the next one. We got this.
They'll all look at me and say
They'll say, "Hey look at him"
"And where he is these days?"
When life is hard, you have to change
When life is hard, you have to change, mmm
-Blind Melon, Change
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