What I learned about doing 75 Hard the second time is you must have unwavering commitment.
We’ve all heard the saying “focus on controlling the controllable,” because there is so much that is not in our control. That proved true for me the second time around.
There are so many things that happen in life that are out of our control. I went into 75 Hard both times with a focus on my why, a framework and a plan, a vision, and a solid set of outcomes I was hoping to achieve. I felt set up for success.
Starting on November 1, 2024, I thought the challenge this time was going to be the holiday season. In my mind the corresponding celebrations, being out of routine, and the delicious food, were my obstacles. What I didn’t anticipate were other things out of my control that weren’t on my radar. My family had car troubles, I experienced two weeks of a virus, a round of physical therapy for my shoulder (again), changes at work and an increase in my workload that disrupted my schedule and routine.
While I could have quit, I didn’t. I had my plan, my accountability partners, a daily checklist to guide me, and my own personal motivation to achieve a desired set of outcomes. Remaining committed to these things enabled me to be successful.
Like 75 Hard, when you commit to applying change management to your organization’s change initiative, you commit to applying an established framework and trusting a process that is supported by years of research and experience in the trenches. There are so many things that you can’t account for in a change initiative. First, you don’t know how disruptive the change will really be and second, you don’t know what or when resistance will occur, or how many obstacles will appear in your path.
Barriers to change show up in many ways, words, and actions, and it is often unpredictable. Fear, ignorance, personal preference, change fatigue, apathy, and lack of desire or effort are just a few drivers and causes of resistance. Some are more obvious than others.
Research says you are 7x more likely to achieve project objectives when applying excellent change management practices. We all know the old adage, "plan your work and work your plan." For my second time doing 75 Hard, I focused on staying committed and flexible - two critical components to make you much better prepared to achieve your desired outcomes.
Like my experience, you are much better prepared to mitigate unexpected and unplanned resistance and challenges when you commit the time, effort, and resources to managing the people side of a change
Are you looking to improve the way you approach change in your organization? Get in touch to learn how organizations leverage our years of experience leading through change and our end-to-end experience with Workday platform implementations to achieve project and people success.
About the Author: Becky Grunig is a Practice Director in Avaap’s Workday Organizational Change Management practice. She is a certified change management professional (CCMP), and certified Avaap Change Lead experienced in helping government, nonprofit, and healthcare organizations implement Workday and lead individuals through successful digital transformation.