When the excitement fades, perseverance remains
A few years ago, I took part in an initiative that seemed unmissable: strong support from senior management, a committed team and a flawless schedule. During the first few weeks, the energy was so intense that it felt as though we were running a marathon at the pace of a 100-metre sprint.
But a few months later, reality set in.
Participation began to wane, the agreed rituals started to attract few attendees, and instead of the initial enthusiasm, the question that haunts any initiative or change project arose: “Why isn’t this moving forward?”
At that moment, I thought we simply needed more energy, more meetings, more speeches. Over time, I came to understand the point that Simon Sinek makes so clearly: it’s not about intensity, but consistency.
And that realisation redefines everything.
The problem isn’t wanting too much. It’s wanting everything at once
Companies and individuals often believe in the power of a defining moment: the kick-off, the starting point, the turning point that promises that “from now on, everything will be different”.
The problem is that change doesn’t work like that.
It’s like trying to get fit by going to the gym for hours on a single day, and then going months without returning. The next day, you might even feel muscle soreness… but your body doesn’t change.
- I’ve experienced that first-hand.
- Change begins.
- But it doesn’t take root.
What really sustains change seems too small to make the headlines
Simon Sinek uses a simple example: brushing your teeth.
It’s not the intense, two-hour-long session that produces the result. It’s the daily, almost invisible habit.
In the world of projects and programmes, I’ve learnt that consistency usually manifests itself like this:
- weekly rituals that actually happen
- short, frequent check-ins
- clear repetition of key messages
- real follow-up, not just symbolic
It’s like brushing your teeth. No one wakes up motivated to do it.
But it is precisely because we do it every day that the result appears.
Intensity may provide the initial momentum. Consistency is what keeps the momentum going.
Trust is not born in epic moments
Something I learnt working in change management is that trust does not arise from major events. It is born in small, repeated, almost invisible encounters.
That meeting where someone really listens.
That conversation where there is no judgement.
That moment when someone says: “I don’t know, let’s find out together.”
When this is repeated, something changes in the atmosphere.
People relax.
They stop putting up a defence.
And they start to truly participate.
Not because they understood the presentation.
But because they trusted the person explaining it.
And trust, almost always, is the result of consistency.
What I learnt along the way
Today, looking back, I understand better why some projects moved forward and others fell by the wayside.
It wasn’t a lack of effort.
Nor of good intentions.
Nor of energy.
It was a lack of consistency.
Change doesn’t need to be grand. It needs to be nurtured.
One day at a time… One conversation at a time. A relationship of trust built bit by bit.
In the end, organisational change doesn’t happen on the day of the announcement.
It happens the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that too.
It is there, in the day-to-day, that change becomes real
