6.3 The Beckhard-Harris Change Formula and Schein's Two Anxieties
Key Takeaways
- The Beckhard and Harris change formula is C=[ABD]>X, where change occurs when A, B and D together exceed X
- A is dissatisfaction with the status quo, B is desirability of the proposed change or end state, D is practicality of the change, and X is the perceived cost of change
- Because A, B and D combine multiplicatively, any one of them being near zero blocks change regardless of the others
- Schein identifies survival anxiety and learning anxiety, and change requires survival anxiety to exceed learning anxiety
- Rather than increasing survival anxiety indefinitely, the better route is reducing learning anxiety through psychological safety
Two models in CM3 address the same underlying question: what conditions have to be true before an organisation or individual will actually change?
The Beckhard and Harris change formula
The formula uses relative values to determine the motivation levels for change in the organisation:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| C | Change |
| A | Level of dissatisfaction with the status quo |
| B | Desirability of the proposed change or end state |
| D | Practicality of the change — knowledge of the next practical steps, minimal risk and disruption |
| X | Perceived cost of the change |
Change occurs when A, B and D together outweigh the perceived cost X.
Why the combination matters
The critical property is that A, B and D combine multiplicatively rather than additively. If any one of them is near zero, the product is near zero, and no amount of the other two compensates.
This gives a genuinely useful diagnostic. When a change is stalled, work out which term is missing:
| Symptom | Missing term | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "What we do now works fine" | A — no dissatisfaction | Make the unsustainability of the current position visible and specific |
| "I see the problem, but that solution is no better" | B — vision not desirable | Rework the end state or explain it in terms this audience values |
| "I agree with all of it, but we could never actually do it here" | D — no practicality | Provide first steps, evidence it can work, a pilot, a credible plan |
| "It's just not worth what it would take" | X — cost too high | Reduce the real cost: resource it, phase it, remove competing demands |
The most commonly neglected term is D. Change communications overwhelmingly invest in A (the burning platform) and B (the vision), and say almost nothing about practicality. Yet a workforce that is dissatisfied and attracted to the destination but has no idea what Monday looks like will not move. Bridges' "plan" and ADKAR's "knowledge" are both, in formula terms, ways of raising D.
Schein's survival and learning anxieties
Edgar Schein recognises two types of anxiety as motivators of behaviour:
- Learning anxiety — anxiety about having to unlearn old ways and learn new ones. Change will require unlearning old ways and learning new ones, and the result of learning anxiety is to inhibit change
- Survival anxiety — anxiety that failing to change threatens something you need
Schein's central proposition: for organisations to change at an acceptable pace, they should amplify a competing and greater anxiety — survival anxiety.
The three elements required
Amplifying survival anxiety effectively requires three elements:
- Disconfirmation — promoting the disturbing belief that the current position is not sustainable, that it is not working any more. This is a possible aspect of A, dissatisfaction with the status quo, in the change formula
- Creation of guilt or anxiety — developing a clear narrative that failure to change will have negative consequences: failure to achieve my goals, disapproval of peers, possibly even seeing my team disbanded, seeing the organisation fail, or losing my job. This also emphasises dissatisfaction with the current state
- Creation of psychological safety — there is a danger that the two preceding elements will make survival anxiety too great, leaving people paralysed by anxiety. Psychological safety here is enhanced by providing a clear, straightforward plan people can follow, and offering suitable support and coaching through the change process. It offers a safe way forward, improving the practicality of the change for people
Note how the third element maps to D in the change formula. Psychological safety is not softness bolted onto a hard message — it is what makes the hard message actionable.
The better lever
Schein's conclusion is that for people to willingly engage with change, it is necessary to create sufficient survival anxiety to destabilise the current situation, while simultaneously supporting people so that they feel safe enough to learn effectively — keeping learning anxiety as low as possible, and certainly lower than the survival anxiety.
Psychological safety is created through:
- Training and practice
- Support and encouragement
- A non-judgemental approach that does not punish errors
- Coaching
- Acknowledgement and reward for effort in the right direction and for experimentation
The practical insight is that there are two ways to make survival anxiety exceed learning anxiety, and reducing learning anxiety is usually the better one. Escalating fear works up to a point and then produces paralysis rather than movement — the same lesson force field analysis teaches about pushing driving forces rather than removing restraints.
In the Beckhard and Harris change formula, what does D represent?
Staff agree the current position is unsustainable and find the proposed future attractive, but say they cannot see how it could realistically be achieved in their organisation. Which term of the change formula is weak?
According to Schein, what is the risk of amplifying survival anxiety through disconfirmation and the creation of guilt without the third element?