7 Things You Can Learn About Change from the Launch of iOS7

It happens every time Apple launches a new iOS (its basic mobile operating system). People complain.

• The new design is hard to use.
• The old icons were better.
• The colours are weird. 
• It’s ugly.
• The font is too think/thick/visible/invisible.

Then, inevitably, they ask: Why do they have to keep changing things?

It’s not just Apple. It happens every time Facebook gets redesigned (remember the Bring Back the Old Facebook campaign?). Instagram, Google, Twitter and almost everyone else faces a similar resistance to change.

So what can you learn about the dynamic of change from all this? Plenty.

Here are seven insights that I hope can help every leader better navigate change.

1. People resist change they didn’t think of. Just know that. You will alway be most passionate about the change you introduce. You don’t like change you didn’t think of either. So just expect that not everyone will applaud on week one.

2. A beta period helps. iOS7 was in in beta for a long time. And this time, Apple was pretty generous with who it let beta the launch. It wasn’t just bona fide developers.I had friends who loaded it months ago and I got early word of mouth that they were loving it.

I didn’t want to wreck my phone with a self-install, so I waited. But I had already made up my mind I was going to like it based on my friends who did.

A long beta also helps when the product is not good. It gives you a chance to get feedback, fix bugs and respond to critics before you go public.

So how do you apply this if you’re not releasing a physical product? Well let’s say you’re planning a new service format for your church, just bring a select group of key influencers along in the process and let them ‘see’ what you’re working on first. It produces raving fans on launch day and gives you real time feedback before the launch.

3. Advance communication creates anticipation. iOS7 was announced 3 months before it was released. I was talking last week with the pastor of a mainline church who’s implementing significant change. He has made it a practice to talk about  change he’s going to make for several months before he makes it. The impact? Usually a few months after he’s started talking about it, people tell him two things “I thought we were already doing that” or “Stop talking about it, just do it!”  Smart. Especially in a culture highly resistant to change.

4. Guides makes change easier to navigate.  Both Apple and many third parties created iOS7 user guides that were available on day one, as well as guides that outlined its features that were released in advance. People resist change they don’t understand. Help them understand it.

5. Better sells itself. Once users overcome the initial shock of new, better wins the day. If your change is really better, the improvements will sell themselves.

6. Over-deliver. I know iOS7 is a major redesign (and Android users…I understand, you can insert your Apple slams here), but it is stacked with hidden time saving tricks and short cuts.  I don’t think Apple overhyped it, and the initial reviews led to a 28% adoption rate in 24 hours – the best ever for any device. Under promise, over-deliver.

7. Don’t confuse listening with leading. Apple didn’t. They listened to all the critics, but they led anyway. Here’s why. They know that a month after a big change like a new OS, almost no one wants to go back.

If you can just be patient and listen during the first month of two—letting people vent—most people will come on board (unless of course your product is a disaster…then you need to rethink). But with a good product, a month from now no one will remember how much they struggled with the change. In fact, most people will have landed somewhere between being a quiet adapter to a new raving fan.

So how long will it take for the critics to subside to a tiny minority?  Well first, remember they probably are a minority. Just because they’re loud doesn’t mean they’re loud. With a software launch, they’re gone in a month when the change is good. When you’re doing wholesale organizational change, it might take a year. But bottom line, don’t let initial criticism kill your vision. Listen, but keep leading.

What have you learned about change from companies like Apple? 

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Interested in learning more on leading change? Pick up a copy of my latest book, Leading Change Without Losing It, for you and your team today.