A company/process transformation is like

a train bound for a new destination.

There are

those who want to be the first to ride,

those who will ride that first ride reluctantly,

those who wait until they see the train successfully arrive at a destination and the regular reliable schedule before they board.

But until a conversation last week; I never heard of the CAVE.

A 1990’s term attributed to Anand Sharma,

defined in the book ‘It’s not What You Say, It’s What you Do’ by Laurence Haughton thus:

"CAVE stands for ‘Citizens Against Virtually Everything’, and like our bodies immune system that assaults everything new and unfamiliar, organizations have their own auto-immune response that instinctively and impulsively attacks every new idea, novel solution, and call for change. Overtly and covertly, these antibodies in human form (aka the CAVE people) chip away at your team’s willingness to trust and try new things, poisoning the environment in order to keep necessary changes from taking hold."

There will always be detractors, CAVE’s on the route. Acknowledge, confront, enroll, incorporate, route around. Be aware because they may have valid points, but beware of the negative detracting force around the CAVEs.

Do you have advice for dealing with CAVES?

Original Linkedin post: https://bit.ly/3xsW9z2