Why Most Companies Struggle to Change (and How to Fix It)

The Real Problem: Leaders Who Think They Know

Many companies say they want to be more customer-focused and adaptable, but in reality, most leaders don’t really understand what change requires. Yes, I said it.

Executives often believe they already know their customers, products, and teams inside out. The truth? Much of their knowledge is outdated, secondhand, or incomplete. They make decisions from a distance, relying on filtered reports instead of real customer interactions. And when change is needed, middle managers resist because it threatens their control, while executives assume the team just needs to “execute better.”

If companies truly want to transform, they need to fix these blind spots — starting at the top.

1. The CEO Problem: Fear of Losing Control

• Many CEOs resist change because it means giving up control. If teams make decisions based on customer insights, where does that leave them?
• Instead of empowering people, they create bottlenecks, slowing down innovation and execution.

✅ Solution: The best CEOs focus on enabling great teams, not micromanaging them. Customer-driven decision-making leads to better, faster results — but only if leadership supports it.

2. The Middle Management Problem: Resistance to Change

• Middle managers are often the biggest blockers of change because it threatens their status and routines.
• If teams gain more autonomy, what happens to their role? If things change too much, will they still be the experts?
• Many managers prefer to keep things as they are — even if it hurts the company — because stability feels safer than growth.

✅ Solution: Shift middle management from gatekeepers to enablers. Recognize and reward managers who support change, not just those who maintain the status quo.

3. The Executive Committee Problem: False Confidence

• Many executives think they understand customers and employees, but they’re often too far removed from reality.
• They rely on dashboards, filtered reports, and presentations rather than talking directly to customers or teams.
• They fear looking weak by admitting they don’t know everything, so they stick to old ways even when they no longer work.

✅ Solution: Force real exposure to customer problems — have executives join support calls, user research sessions, or frontline meetings. Seeing the issues firsthand changes perspectives fast.

4. The “We Already Know Our Customers” Problem

• Many companies believe they understand their customers because they’ve been in business for years.
• But markets shift, expectations evolve, and what worked five years ago might be completely irrelevant today.
• If companies assume they already have all the answers, they stop learning — and eventually, they fall behind.

✅ Solution: Build a culture of continuous learning. Every assumption about customers should be tested regularly with real data and interactions.

5. The Illusion of Change: Thinking It’s a Project, Not a Culture

• Some leaders believe transformation is a one-time project — launch an initiative, hire a consultant, reorg the team, and done!
• In reality, real change never stops. It’s a shift in mindset, incentives, and behavior across the whole company.

✅ Solution: Treat change like a habit, not an event. Leaders must model the right behaviors daily — listening to teams, adapting to feedback, and challenging outdated thinking.

How to Fix It (Without the Usual Corporate Nonsense)

1️⃣ Expose Leaders to Reality → No more filtered reports. Have executives listen to real customer complaints and team frustrations firsthand.

2️⃣ Tie Success to Customer Impact → Stop rewarding middle managers for maintaining control. Reward them for helping teams make better decisions.

3️⃣ Make Learning a Leadership Trait → The best leaders are constantly learning, not pretending they already know everything.

4️⃣ Show the Cost of Inaction → Give real-world examples of companies that failed by refusing to change.

5️⃣ Start Small, Prove Fast → Don’t wait for a massive transformation plan. Start with small changes, prove success quickly, and scale from there.

Change Doesn’t Fail Because of Teams — It Fails Because of Leadership

If a company isn’t changing fast enough, it’s usually not because employees don’t want to improve. It’s because leaders are too slow, too disconnected, or too resistant to letting go of control.

The good news? This can be fixed — but only if executives are willing to question their own assumptions first.

Francisco Cobos

🐢 “Poc a Poc” (Little by Little)