SPOTLIGHT: Disarming Change Resistance with David Schonthal

In his book, “The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance that Awaits New Ideas,” Kellogg professor David Schonthal challenges the default assumption that selling an idea requires the seller to heighten its appeal. Instead, he makes the case that failure to adopt ideas, strategies or products is often due to the four key psychological frictions that oppose change: inertia, effort, emotion and reactance. He argues that successful leaders and innovators must identify, understand and overcome these to achieve novel outcomes.

David Schonthal is a clinical professor of innovation and entrepreneurship at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches courses in new venture creation, design thinking, business acquisition, corporate innovation and creativity. He also serves as the faculty director of Kellogg’s Zell Fellows Program. Outside of the Kellogg School of Management, David is a senior director of business design at IDEO, where he focuses on helping organizations build and launch new ventures, design transformational new business models and establish novel go-to-market strategies for products and services.

*This episode is an excerpt taken from our 2021 interview.