The Power to Change summary

Small changes are relatively easy to handle. But bigger ones, like Burning Platform and Quantum Leap changes, are another story. These are transformative events in the most important areas of life, like love, health, and career. That makes them deeply personal, emotionally charged, and difficult to navigate.

The details vary from one big change to the next, but the general ways people react to them are surprisingly predictable. If you were to learn that you have cancer, you’d probably react with shock – the typical first reaction to a Burning Platform change. It’s usually followed by a series of subsequent reactions that can be visualized as a curve: the Burning Platform Change Curve, for short.

What if you could just skip the negative stages of your change curve and jump straight to the positive ones? That might sound nice, and it does happen sometimes. But usually, it doesn’t – and that’s okay. The curves are normal human reactions to change – and that applies to both their peaks and their troughs.

Consider the depression stage. Why do you go through it? Well, every Burning Platform change involves a loss – the loss of your job, your partner, your health, or whatever the case might be. Even if it’s a positive change, like a promotion, you’re still losing something, such as the comfortable familiarity of your old position.

Saying you should avoid victimhood, let out your frustrations, and confront your fears is one thing. Actually doing so is another. So how exactly do you do it?

Well, most importantly, don’t just hope that negative thoughts, emotions, and behaviors will magically disappear. And don’t try to chase them away, bottle them up, or berate yourself for falling prey to them. Instead, acknowledge them, and then work on moving them in healthier, more productive directions. To start the process, make sure you’re avoiding victimhood.

Suppose that after getting fired, you decide to start your own business. Great! That’s taking a Burning Platform change and using it as an opportunity to make a Quantum Leap change. But that means you’re also about to take a ride down the Quantum Leap Change Curve.

First comes the excitement of starting a new chapter in your professional life. But then comes apprehension, which soon develops into full-blown fear.

Imagine you work through your fears, and they prove to be unfounded. Your business is a roaring success! Congratulations. You’re now the leader of a sizable company, with a number of employees working under you.

One day, you decide it’s time to take another bold step forward: a major restructuring of the company. That’s exciting! Another Quantum Leap change – for you. But for your employees, it’s probably going to feel like a Burning Platform change. And that means you should expect them to slide down the Burning Platform Change Curve – greeting your initiative with anger and fear.

Many obstacles can get in the way of making a big change. You now know some of the main hurdles you're likely to face: the negative emotions and behaviors of the Burning Platform and Quantum Leap Change Curves. You also know how to overcome these challenges.

But now that you’re ready to make a change, how do you actually make it? Well, the details depend on what kind of change you’re making. Starting a new business entails very different things than, say, starting a new relationship. But to give yourself a leg up with making nearly any sort of change, there are some general steps you should follow.