Four years ago Microdosis published its first blog entry with the title “Resistance to Change”. What changed in these four years? Resistance to change means information, not the opposite of progression. This distinction transfers through the entire framework that Microdosis is today. The same situation can look entirely different when observed from a different perspective. Exactly what Microdosis does best.

Founders often understand resistance as a stop sign. It is not. More often than not, it is a signal inviting observation.
Most people want change, on paper. Few people will embrace change, on the execution.

One of the paragraphs that still holds true four years later goes like this:

“When it comes to the attempt of doing things in a way that has never been done, it is so normal to freeze and panic, since the attempt itself is nothing but an anomaly. But, what’s an anomaly? Nothing but one of the necessary seeds for innovation.”

At Microdosis, resistance is not necessarily a force to fight against. Why would we compete instead of collaborate with this anomaly? Better together, even in conflict. Especially in conflict. The goal is not to eliminate tension but to learn from it. Especially when it reveals something important.

Resistance leads to observation.
Observation leads to understanding.
Understanding leads to direction.
Direction leads to change.

How does this all work in practice?

For founders:

Delaying a decision.
Avoiding focus.
Planning within stagnation.

For projects:

Wanting development but lacking direction.
Building through improvisation.
Neglect the unknown.

Change is not alien to Microdosis. The first four out of the total of five years were prototyping the design framework that it is today. At the beginning and as a summary, it was all different. Designing under a prototype mindset allowed Microdosis to evolve openly as time, experience and iteration accumulated. The vision was simple. Wanting change, and allowing change to happen.

More from 2021:

“Do we want things to stay the same? No. So then, what are we going to do about it? The same we did yesterday?”

Projects influence environments, just like humans do everyday, yet not every project needs to save the world. So, the question is not if projects create change or not, but what type of change are they creating.

The best projects, the projects worth building, are not created by avoiding change. They are created by redefining the way the approach change, inwards and outwards. They are built by developing the capacity to engage with it. Perhaps the real challenge is not eliminating resistance but developing the capacity to engage with it. Capacity to observe. Capacity to adapt. Capacity to decide. Capacity to move forward despite uncertainty.

How do you approach resistance lately? If you’re struggling to identify what sits beneath that resistance, a Diagnostic may be a good place to begin.

Change no more

Start from the start