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.