Change is a Matter of System 2
Based on the work of Daniel Kahneman (“System 1 / System 2”) and Jacques Fradin (automatic vs. adaptive mode), one thing is clear:
Change is a System 2 process.
But this System 2 — adaptive, conscious, abstract-thinking — is not something we can summon at will.
It only becomes fully available when people feel psychologically safe.
Without that safety, System 1 (our automatic brain) takes over — and acts first and foremost to protect what already exists.
You Can’t Force Adaptation
Most change programs try to engage System 2 using logic, vision, or urgency:
“Here’s the roadmap. Here’s the vision. Let’s go!”
But it’s often received as:
“Give me a brilliant idea right now… or you’re out.”
That doesn’t work.
System 1 detects threat, uncertainty, and potential loss — of meaning, control, identity, safety — and reacts with fight, flight, freeze, or apathy.
Naming What Matters to Calm the System
To engage those who must live the change, you first need to calm their System 1.
That starts with clearly naming what will not be lost — what is essential and non-negotiable.
Only then can people access System 2, consider new options, and engage in responsible adaptation.
Organizations that succeed in changing often have an explicit, shared DNA.
Those that fail react blindly — without naming what matters.
A Lens on Societal Inaction
Take climate change, or other major societal shifts.
We know the data. So why aren’t we moving faster?
Because the change appears to threaten something we value:
- Comfort
- Autonomy
- Freedom
- Identity
This same mechanism plays out in companies, teams, and associations.
When someone feels that a new practice might ultimately make them redundant, they won’t adopt it — even if it’s “good for the organization.”
Implicit Culture: The Hidden Resistance
Every organization has a culture — even if it’s not named.
That culture is built on practices, behaviors, and assumptions that helped the organization survive and grow.
Trying to change these without naming them triggers System 1:
“If I lose this, does the whole thing collapse?”
That’s why so many transformations fail.
They unconsciously threaten the organization’s perceived survival.
What SecureChange Offers Instead
SecureChange proposes a different path:
- Make visible what must be preserved
(Cultural, human, or economic invariants) - Define shared Points of Vigilance
(These are repères — not rules — observable signals, not prescriptions) - Create space for local adaptation
Teams act freely as long as the invariants are respected, and may challenge the PVs if tensions arise
This disarms automatic resistance, maintains a healthy structural backbone, and allows real evolution to happen.
Otherwise, a hidden web of rigid processes and invisible assumptions will continue to shape the system —
and managers will remain its unconscious guardians.
The Real Key to Change?
Change without losing what matters.
That’s the only way to recruit System 2.
And build lasting transformation.