Stamina, Not Speed: Why Change Sticks - #142 - Steve Reiner

Episode Summary

Business changes fast and people change slow. That gap, Steve Reiner argues, is where most change efforts quietly fail, and closing it is one of the few real competitive advantages a company has left. In this episode, host Justin Lake sits down with Steve, VP of Sales at Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits and author of Leaders Created and Business Changes Fast, People Change Slow, to unpack why adoption stalls on the frontline and what leaders can actually do about it.

Steve walks through his Change Stamina Framework, a four-step approach that puts the work back on leaders rather than the frontline. Leaders learn the change first, well before launch. They bring in managers, then frontline champions, staying in the room the entire time. They host the training themselves instead of kicking off a meeting and slipping out the back. And they reinforce the change for far longer than anyone expects, because sustainment, not go-live, is where adoption is won or lost.

Along the way, Steve explains why the small daily changes sting frontline teams more than the big platform launches, why people resist change for reasons rooted in how our brains conserve energy, and why nine and a half times out of ten people do not need pressure, they need more time and attention. He also ties it all back to the P&L: if a change is worth making, it is worth supporting all the way through, because every day a team spends stuck in the change curve is a day the business pays for it.

Key Topics

• Shrinking the gap between business speed and people speed
• The Change Stamina Framework
• Leaders as participants, not just deciders
• Why people resist change
• Sustainment is longer than you think
• Connecting change to the P&L

Episode Chapters

00:00  Introduction to leadership and change management

02:56  Connecting change to performance and profit

06:01  The role of leaders in change execution

09:14  The Change Stamina Framework

11:59  Building confidence in leaders

14:58  The importance of field engagement

18:11  Understanding resistance to change

21:00  The leader's responsibility in change

23:53  The impact of communication on change

27:02  The need for continuous engagement

30:01  Conclusion and call to action

32:04  Challenging routines and embracing change

34:44  Understanding the adoption curve

36:00  The importance of time and attention in leadership

39:46  Winning the game of chicken with resistors

43:45  The long road of change sustainment

49:12  Change as a continuous process

57:08  Engaging with leadership and resources

 

About Steve Reiner

Steve Reiner is VP of Sales at Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, with more than two decades of experience rising from consultant to senior leadership across multiple markets. He focuses on building leaders who build engaged, high-performing frontline teams. Steve is the author of two books, Leaders Created and, most recently, Business Changes Fast, People Change Slow, which lays out his Change Stamina Framework for leading change faster than the competition.

Resources

• Steve's website: Leaders Created
• "Business Changes Fast, People Change Slow" by Steve Reiner, available on Amazon
• "Leaders Created" by Steve Reiner, available on Amazon
• Steve Reiner on LinkedIn
• Skyllful