Seeing systems in people's choices

LinkedIn as a platform annoyed me enough to break my let people be wrong on the internet -principle, on some smaller company leaders trash talking people on other companies payroll. Stories like this are popular fodder for a lot of toxicity: 

The leadership of a big consulting firm had gone to visit a major client to “sell” an AI transformation. The only problem was that the firm’s own consultants had spent the past year refusing to adopt AI tools, even though the client had been offering them training and tools 😂 A friend of mine at that company just said: “We already bought this a long time ago—go sell it to your own people so we can actually start using it.”

I felt like offering a perspective of experience: 

1. I have been on the receiving end of a client manager boastfully telling me this. Thanks, I can see the prep you did on delivering that line of insult. 
2. I have seen that the same client's organization expects a lot of uninvoiced work on planning future major changes. They consider it part of our sales work. I consider it some of our best people doing a lot of work from promise of future profits. 
3. I have seen that the same client's organization brings hourly rate down by competition, to a level where I cannot work a single hour without losing money for my company. And no, I am not that expensive. Their hourly rates are that poor. We have a blended rate so me losing money on every hour does not matter any more than the uninvoiced sales and management work. 
4. These are expected disproportionately from larger organizations. 

Coming to the conversation of offering them training and tools often misses the idea of making space to learn these things. Even when we pay for the training time, none of the other commitments that are paid are flexible. We are probably already on a tight delivery project. We are probably already accommodating growing understanding as scope does not creep that just creates more work. 

Expecting everything AND a change at the same time without making space for people just does not work. 

It might be "why can't you spend two weeks trying out Browserstack" or "why can't you just start using AI", usually from people who neither work regular hours (me!), nor on regular speed (again, me!), within contractually micromanaged responsibilities (sometimes me!). 

There is this Knoster change management model: 

❌ No vision → People don’t understand why → Wrong or chaotic change

❌ No motivation/incentives → People don’t care → Slow change

❌ No skills → People feel incapable → Anxiety

❌ No resources → People want to change but can’t → Frustration

I had a picture of that too, but someone has decided even linking images already uploaded online to my blog on this computer is unacceptable to protect the large numbers of clients I care for. 

I suspect more than one of these are missing, and the lack of empathy on the system you have contributed in creating and are maintaining on social media might be at play with your results. 

People have reasons, and ideology is a relevant one, too.