Webinar: Why Change Is Hard—and How to Make It Easier
Many improvement efforts fail not because the solution is wrong—but because people struggle to change behavior.
Leaders often rely on logic, data, and good intentions, yet still encounter resistance, fatigue, or quiet disengagement. The missing piece is frequently psychology—how people actually experience change.
In this KaiNexus Continuous Improvement webinar, Tracy O’Rourke explores how insights from behavioral psychology can help improvement leaders motivate change more effectively—without fear, pressure, or manipulation.
Hosted by Mark Graban, Senior Advisor at KaiNexus, this session connects change psychology with practical Lean methods, especially process gemba walks, to help teams move from understanding to action.
View all previous KaiNexus Continuous Improvement Webinars
Beyond Logic: Motivating Real Behavior Change
Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in process improvement, Tracy explains why logic alone isn’t enough to drive change—and what leaders can do differently.
Using real-world examples and approachable models, she introduces practical ways to:
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Understand motivation and resistance
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Create emotional connection to improvement work
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Reduce overwhelm by shrinking the change
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Build empathy and shared understanding through process walks
This webinar blends psychology, Lean thinking, and lived experience into tools you can apply immediately.
What You’ll Learn
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Why people resist change—even when it makes sense
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The “rider and elephant” model of motivation
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How to motivate behavior without fear or manipulation
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Why process gemba walks are powerful change tools
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How to make change feel smaller, safer, and achievable
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Practical ways to apply psychology in continuous improvement
Who This Webinar Is For
This session is especially valuable for:
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Continuous improvement and Lean leaders
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Managers and leaders responsible for driving change
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Operational excellence and process improvement professionals
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Healthcare, manufacturing, and service leaders
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Anyone frustrated by resistance to well-intended improvements
If you’ve ever asked, “Why don’t people just do this?”—this webinar is for you.
Key Insight: Change Is Emotional Before It’s Logical
People don’t change because they understand a chart.
They change when they feel the impact—and believe the change is possible.
As Tracy explains, effective change leaders:
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Address both logic and emotion
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Make progress visible and manageable
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Help people see the pain in the process—not blame each other
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Use gemba walks to build empathy and shared understanding
When motivation and method align, improvement becomes sustainable.
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