# Launching Change and Building Momentum ### About this export | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | **content_type** | lesson | | **platform** | contentstack-academy | | **source_url** | https://www.contentstack.com/academy/courses/change-management/launching-change-and-building-momentum | | **course_slug** | change-management | | **lesson_slug** | launching-change-and-building-momentum | | **markdown_file_url** | /academy/md/courses/change-management/launching-change-and-building-momentum.md | | **generated_at** | 2026-04-28T06:55:38.403Z | > Part of **[Change Management](https://www.contentstack.com/academy/courses/change-management)** on Contentstack Academy. **Academy MD v3** — structured for retrieval; no quiz or assessment keys. #### Video details #### At a glance - **Title:** Launching Change And Building Momentum - **Duration:** 5m 26s - **Media link:** https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/ODcKIqmO - **Publish date (unix):** 1769546862 #### Streaming renditions - application/vnd.apple.mpegurl - audio/mp4 · AAC Audio · 113499 kbps - video/mp4 · 180p · 180p · 193739 kbps - video/mp4 · 270p · 270p · 244733 kbps - video/mp4 · 360p · 360p · 281158 kbps - video/mp4 · 406p · 406p · 312209 kbps - video/mp4 · 540p · 540p · 413672 kbps - video/mp4 · 720p · 720p · 582335 kbps - video/mp4 · 1080p · 1080p · 1191514 kbps #### Timed text tracks (delivery) - **thumbnails:** `https://cdn.jwplayer.com/strips/ODcKIqmO-120.vtt` #### Transcript Once you're ready to go, the hardest part isn't getting people to understand the change, it's getting them to believe in it. Every major transformation needs a spark, something that turns planning into movement. And here's what I've learned. Logic starts the conversation, but emotion sustains it. When change begins, people aren't asking, is this efficient? They're asking, is this worth it? Because change always comes with effort, discomfort, and a little bit of fear. So the question becomes, how do we light that match without burning people out? Again, let's start with a story. A few years ago, a marketing team was re-platforming their entire digital ecosystem. They were smart, experienced, and exhausted. The previous three initiatives had started strong, fizzled, and quietly disappeared. Each one leaving a little less enthusiasm for the next. So before they touched a single workflow, they decided to build what I call change readiness energy. They did something symbolic, small, but visible. Every person wrote down what frustrated them about the old system on a sticky note. They filled the wall with thousands of little complaints. They then took them outside, read a few out loud, and burned them, literally. It wasn't about the fire. It was about the release. It said, we're done with what's not working, and we're moving forward together. That moment changed everything. It wasn't a meeting. It was a signal. And it created the two things every change leader needs, belief and momentum. Now, lighting the match doesn't have to be theatrical, but it does have to be intentional. Here are three principles you can use to launch any major change. 1. Burn the ships, but with empathy. There's a famous story about Hernan Cortez arriving in Mexico and burning his fleet so his men had no way back. That kind of commitment works, but let's modernize it. In organizations, burning the ships means removing the easy path to the old way of doing things, not by force, but by clarity. If you keep both systems running indefinitely, you'll split focus and stall adoption. So make a decision. When does the new way become the way? Mark that date. Communicate it early. But also make sure people have the training, support, and confidence to get there. Commitment without preparation is cruel. 2. Find and fuel your champions. Every transformation has early adopters, the ones already saying, this makes sense, let's go. They're your most valuable asset. At Airbnb, one of their internal mottos for change was, don't scale process, scale belief. They identified champions in each region, gave them early access, let them shape the rollout, and then turned them into internal storytellers. Champions make change contagious. They don't just follow the plan, they embody it. So instead of trying to convince the skeptics first, empower the believers and let their success do the convincing. 3. Reframe the narrative. When people resist, it's rarely about the change itself. It's about loss, loss of control, loss of identity, loss of competence. So shift the story from we're changing the system to we're evolving how we work. Change is language that centers progress. We're building faster, smarter versions of ourselves. This isn't about replacing what works, it's about expanding what's possible. The goal is to make people feel invited into the future, not dragged into it. When you combine these three, commitment, champions, and reframing, change starts to feel less like a mandate and more like a movement. And movements create momentum. Momentum is what gets you through the first wave of resistance. It turns why are we doing this into how can I help make it better. That's the shift every successful transformation reaches, when people start to see themselves in the story. So before you launch, ask yourself, what's our spark, who's our champion, and how will we make this story feel personal? Get those right, and the match you strike won't just ignite the project, it'll light the path forward. #### Subtitles (WebVTT) ```webvtt WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.800 Once you're ready to go, the hardest part isn't getting people to understand the change, 2 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:13.000 it's getting them to believe in it. 3 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:19.680 Every major transformation needs a spark, something that turns planning into movement. 4 00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:22.120 And here's what I've learned. 5 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:27.000 Logic starts the conversation, but emotion sustains it. 6 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:31.560 When change begins, people aren't asking, is this efficient? 7 00:00:31.560 --> 00:00:34.600 They're asking, is this worth it? 8 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:40.200 Because change always comes with effort, discomfort, and a little bit of fear. 9 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:47.680 So the question becomes, how do we light that match without burning people out? 10 00:00:47.680 --> 00:00:50.400 Again, let's start with a story. 11 00:00:50.400 --> 00:00:58.200 A few years ago, a marketing team was re-platforming their entire digital ecosystem. 12 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:02.860 They were smart, experienced, and exhausted. 13 00:01:02.860 --> 00:01:08.720 The previous three initiatives had started strong, fizzled, and quietly disappeared. 14 00:01:08.720 --> 00:01:12.880 Each one leaving a little less enthusiasm for the next. 15 00:01:12.880 --> 00:01:20.080 So before they touched a single workflow, they decided to build what I call change readiness 16 00:01:20.080 --> 00:01:21.520 energy. 17 00:01:21.520 --> 00:01:25.920 They did something symbolic, small, but visible. 18 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:31.560 Every person wrote down what frustrated them about the old system on a sticky note. 19 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:35.200 They filled the wall with thousands of little complaints. 20 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:41.440 They then took them outside, read a few out loud, and burned them, literally. 21 00:01:41.440 --> 00:01:43.520 It wasn't about the fire. 22 00:01:43.520 --> 00:01:45.440 It was about the release. 23 00:01:45.440 --> 00:01:52.360 It said, we're done with what's not working, and we're moving forward together. 24 00:01:52.360 --> 00:01:54.760 That moment changed everything. 25 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:56.320 It wasn't a meeting. 26 00:01:56.320 --> 00:01:57.800 It was a signal. 27 00:01:57.800 --> 00:02:04.760 And it created the two things every change leader needs, belief and momentum. 28 00:02:04.880 --> 00:02:12.120 Now, lighting the match doesn't have to be theatrical, but it does have to be intentional. 29 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:17.480 Here are three principles you can use to launch any major change. 30 00:02:17.480 --> 00:02:18.640 1. 31 00:02:18.640 --> 00:02:21.360 Burn the ships, but with empathy. 32 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:28.440 There's a famous story about Hernan Cortez arriving in Mexico and burning his fleet so 33 00:02:28.440 --> 00:02:31.160 his men had no way back. 34 00:02:31.160 --> 00:02:35.560 That kind of commitment works, but let's modernize it. 35 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:42.040 In organizations, burning the ships means removing the easy path to the old way of doing 36 00:02:42.040 --> 00:02:45.900 things, not by force, but by clarity. 37 00:02:45.900 --> 00:02:52.080 If you keep both systems running indefinitely, you'll split focus and stall adoption. 38 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:54.040 So make a decision. 39 00:02:54.040 --> 00:02:57.920 When does the new way become the way? 40 00:02:57.920 --> 00:02:59.960 Mark that date. 41 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:01.200 Communicate it early. 42 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:07.440 But also make sure people have the training, support, and confidence to get there. 43 00:03:07.440 --> 00:03:10.960 Commitment without preparation is cruel. 44 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:12.160 2. 45 00:03:12.160 --> 00:03:15.060 Find and fuel your champions. 46 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:21.280 Every transformation has early adopters, the ones already saying, this makes sense, let's 47 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:22.280 go. 48 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:24.500 They're your most valuable asset. 49 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:32.340 At Airbnb, one of their internal mottos for change was, don't scale process, scale belief. 50 00:03:32.340 --> 00:03:38.500 They identified champions in each region, gave them early access, let them shape the 51 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:44.260 rollout, and then turned them into internal storytellers. 52 00:03:44.260 --> 00:03:46.380 Champions make change contagious. 53 00:03:46.380 --> 00:03:49.860 They don't just follow the plan, they embody it. 54 00:03:49.860 --> 00:03:55.640 So instead of trying to convince the skeptics first, empower the believers and let their 55 00:03:55.640 --> 00:03:58.620 success do the convincing. 56 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:00.180 3. 57 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:02.080 Reframe the narrative. 58 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:05.640 When people resist, it's rarely about the change itself. 59 00:04:05.640 --> 00:04:11.620 It's about loss, loss of control, loss of identity, loss of competence. 60 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:18.340 So shift the story from we're changing the system to we're evolving how we work. 61 00:04:18.340 --> 00:04:21.220 Change is language that centers progress. 62 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.040 We're building faster, smarter versions of ourselves. 63 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:30.720 This isn't about replacing what works, it's about expanding what's possible. 64 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:36.680 The goal is to make people feel invited into the future, not dragged into it. 65 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:42.500 When you combine these three, commitment, champions, and reframing, change starts to 66 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:46.620 feel less like a mandate and more like a movement. 67 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:50.220 And movements create momentum. 68 00:04:50.220 --> 00:04:54.300 Momentum is what gets you through the first wave of resistance. 69 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:59.860 It turns why are we doing this into how can I help make it better. 70 00:04:59.860 --> 00:05:05.760 That's the shift every successful transformation reaches, when people start to see themselves 71 00:05:05.760 --> 00:05:07.340 in the story. 72 00:05:07.340 --> 00:05:14.580 So before you launch, ask yourself, what's our spark, who's our champion, and how will 73 00:05:14.580 --> 00:05:18.260 we make this story feel personal? 74 00:05:18.260 --> 00:05:23.420 Get those right, and the match you strike won't just ignite the project, it'll light 75 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:24.500 the path forward. ``` ```transcript [00:00] Once you're ready to go, the hardest part isn't getting people to understand the change, [00:09] it's getting them to believe in it. [00:13] Every major transformation needs a spark, something that turns planning into movement. [00:19] And here's what I've learned. [00:22] Logic starts the conversation, but emotion sustains it. [00:27] When change begins, people aren't asking, is this efficient? [00:31] They're asking, is this worth it? [00:34] Because change always comes with effort, discomfort, and a little bit of fear. [00:40] So the question becomes, how do we light that match without burning people out? [00:47] Again, let's start with a story. [00:50] A few years ago, a marketing team was re-platforming their entire digital ecosystem. [00:58] They were smart, experienced, and exhausted. [01:02] The previous three initiatives had started strong, fizzled, and quietly disappeared. [01:08] Each one leaving a little less enthusiasm for the next. [01:12] So before they touched a single workflow, they decided to build what I call change readiness [01:20] energy. [01:21] They did something symbolic, small, but visible. [01:25] Every person wrote down what frustrated them about the old system on a sticky note. [01:31] They filled the wall with thousands of little complaints. [01:35] They then took them outside, read a few out loud, and burned them, literally. [01:41] It wasn't about the fire. [01:43] It was about the release. [01:45] It said, we're done with what's not working, and we're moving forward together. [01:52] That moment changed everything. [01:54] It wasn't a meeting. [01:56] It was a signal. [01:57] And it created the two things every change leader needs, belief and momentum. [02:04] Now, lighting the match doesn't have to be theatrical, but it does have to be intentional. [02:12] Here are three principles you can use to launch any major change. [02:17] 1. [02:18] Burn the ships, but with empathy. [02:21] There's a famous story about Hernan Cortez arriving in Mexico and burning his fleet so [02:28] his men had no way back. [02:31] That kind of commitment works, but let's modernize it. [02:35] In organizations, burning the ships means removing the easy path to the old way of doing [02:42] things, not by force, but by clarity. [02:45] If you keep both systems running indefinitely, you'll split focus and stall adoption. [02:52] So make a decision. [02:54] When does the new way become the way? [02:57] Mark that date. [02:59] Communicate it early. [03:01] But also make sure people have the training, support, and confidence to get there. [03:07] Commitment without preparation is cruel. [03:10] 2. [03:12] Find and fuel your champions. [03:15] Every transformation has early adopters, the ones already saying, this makes sense, let's [03:21] go. [03:22] They're your most valuable asset. [03:24] At Airbnb, one of their internal mottos for change was, don't scale process, scale belief. [03:32] They identified champions in each region, gave them early access, let them shape the [03:38] rollout, and then turned them into internal storytellers. [03:44] Champions make change contagious. [03:46] They don't just follow the plan, they embody it. [03:49] So instead of trying to convince the skeptics first, empower the believers and let their [03:55] success do the convincing. [03:58] 3. [04:00] Reframe the narrative. [04:02] When people resist, it's rarely about the change itself. [04:05] It's about loss, loss of control, loss of identity, loss of competence. [04:11] So shift the story from we're changing the system to we're evolving how we work. ``` #### Key takeaways - Connect **Launching Change and Building Momentum** back to your stack configuration before moving to the next module. - Capture one concrete artifact (screenshot, Postman call, or code snippet) that proves the step works in your environment. - Re-read the delivery versus management boundary for anything you changed in the entry model. ## Supplement for indexing ### Content summary Launching Change and Building Momentum. Launching Change and Building Momentum in Change Management (change-management). ### Retrieval tags - Launching - Change - and - Building - Momentum - change-management - lesson 05 - Launching Change and Building Momentum - change-management lesson ### Indexing notes Index this lesson as a primary chunk tagged with lesson_id "05" and topics: [Launching, Change, and, Building, Momentum]. Parent course slug: change-management. Use asset_references URLs as thumbnail hints in search results when present. Never surface LMS quiz content or assessment answers from this file. ### Asset references | Label | URL | | --- | --- | | Video thumbnail: Launching Change and Building Momentum | `https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ODcKIqmO/poster.jpg?width=720` | ### External links | Label | URL | | --- | --- | | Contentstack Academy home | `https://www.contentstack.com/academy/` | | Training instance setup | `https://www.contentstack.com/academy/training-instance` | | Academy playground (GitHub) | `https://github.com/contentstack/contentstack-academy-playground` | | Contentstack documentation | `https://www.contentstack.com/docs/` |