Robert Kegan

Immunity to Change

1. IDEA 1

   We resist change for hidden reasons

   Kegan and Lahey argue that people often fail to change even when they sincerely want to, because a hidden mental immune system protects them from what they fear. Understanding this system is the key to real change.

2. IDEA 2

   Adaptive challenges need new thinking

   The authors distinguish technical problems, solved with new skills, from adaptive challenges, which require changing mindsets. Many personal changes are adaptive. In the authors' view, learning a new skill is not enough when the real obstacle is a belief that we hold without noticing it.

3. IDEA 3

   Start with an improvement goal

   The authors' four-column map begins with a goal you genuinely want to achieve. It should matter to you. In the authors' view, if the goal is not truly important to the person, then the rest of the process will not work well.

All 8 ideas from Immunity to Change →