How Change Really Travels

with Greg Satell

September 2, 2026

The Change Signal with Greg Satell

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In this episode, I talk with Greg Satell about change management, transformation, and why large-scale change is less like a rollout and more like a cascade.

Greg’s argument is wonderfully useful: change spreads through small groups, loosely connected, united by shared purpose. That means the job of a change leader is not to launch bigger, shout louder, or persuade harder — it’s to find where energy already exists, build one concrete success, and let peer networks do their work.

We also dig into why shared purpose needs shared values underneath it, why resistance is often rational, and why identity is the hardest thing to ask people to change.

For senior leaders navigating change fatigue, transformation overload, and the endless pressure to “go big,” this conversation offers a more practical, human, and network-smart way to begin.

Here are three questions from this Change Signal conversation with Greg Satell:

What if change doesn’t move through hierarchy at all?
What if silos are not the problem, but part of the solution?
What if trying to persuade people is actually a warning sign?

ABOUT GREG:

Greg Satell is the author of Cascades: How to Create a Movement That Drives Transformational Change and a writer, speaker, and adviser on transformation, innovation, and network-based change. His work draws on research, business experience, and his time in Ukraine during the Orange Revolution, where he saw firsthand how movements build momentum and create real change.