How Your Origin Story Runs Your Change Program
The Change Signal with Ron Carucci
Listen or Watch on:
Change management, as most of us were taught it, assumes a linear path: a clear “from,” a clear “to,” and a plan to get there. In this conversation, Ron Carucci makes the case that those days are over. For leaders running complex change in large organizations, the real work now is less about managing transitions and more about building readiness for constant uncertainty.
Ron and I explore why so many well-designed transformations stall — not because the strategy was wrong, but because the leader’s inner patterns were never examined. He introduces the idea of “origin stories”: early narratives that shape how leaders set standards, respond to resistance, and tolerate risk, often without realizing it.
We also unpack Ron’s three-domain model of transformation: work within the leader, between people and teams, and among the systems of culture, strategy, and governance. Miss one, and change quietly unravels. This is a practical, humane, and slightly uncomfortable conversation for experienced change leaders who want results that actually stick.
Here are three questions that arise from this Change Signal conversation with Ron Carucci:
Are we still managing change as if it’s predictable?
What unseen stories are really shaping how our organizations behave?
And where might leaders themselves be quietly getting in the way?
ABOUT RON:
Ron Carucci is the founder of Navalent and a leading voice on leadership and organizational transformation. He writes widely for outlets like HBR, and his work focuses on helping leaders and organizations navigate change without collateral damage — by addressing the human, relational, and systemic forces that shape outcomes.
Music Credits: Rest in the Garden - SackJo22 ft Duckett & The Stubble Field Break (Mana Mixed) - Mana Junkie ft Apoxode
