Glancing through the technology headlines you notice a common thread. A lot of news is about change. New things. When there is change we have two options, accept it or reject it. I have been wondering what drives us to either accept or reject certain changes. Let's take two examples of major change and how people are receiving the change. Exhibit A is Microsoft Windows Vista. Exhibit B is Mac OS X Leopard. Vista has been out for nearly a year while Leopard is about to come out in a few days. I have noticed that these two OS upgrades have been met with two opposing attitudes toward change. The prevalent attitude about Vista is "wait and see." On the other hand, everyone I have talked to is anticipating Leopard, they can hardly wait for the release.
Both upgrades offer radical changes but why such varied receptions? It is because of perceived changes. Vista was so glaringly different that it may have scared people away from change. On the other hand, changes in Leopard are subtle yet it is easy to see how they are worthwhile. The changes aren't scary but inviting.
We learn that changing something drastically might scare away new adopters. Make the change subtle and try not to rock the boat. This will help people accept change.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment