Growing Wings: The Power of Change

Ben Hunt challenges the conventional wisdom that resistance to change is inherently human nature, arguing instead that our discomfort with change stems from poorly designed change processes rather than psychological barriers. Hunt, a design strategist and founder of User Onboarding, draws on behavioral psychology and systems thinking to present his 'Growing Wings' framework—a methodology for implementing change that works with human psychology rather than against it. The core insight revolves around what Hunt calls 'micro-commitments'—small, incremental steps that create momentum without triggering our natural resistance mechanisms. Unlike traditional change management approaches that rely on motivation and willpower, Hunt's method focuses on reducing friction and creating environmental conditions that make new behaviors easier than old ones. He introduces the concept of 'change debt'—the accumulated resistance that builds when change initiatives fail to account for human cognitive limitations. Through case studies from companies like Slack and Dropbox, Hunt demonstrates how successful products and organizational changes succeed by making the new way of doing things feel inevitable rather than imposed. The book's strength lies in its practical synthesis of behavioral economics, product design principles, and organizational psychology into a coherent system for navigating transformation.

This thread continues the same argument: Ben Hunt challenges the conventional wisdom that resistance to change is inherently human nature, arguing instead that our discomfort with change stems from poorly designed change processes rather tha…

This thread continues the same argument: Ben Hunt challenges the conventional wisdom that resistance to change is inherently human nature, arguing instead that our discomfort with change stems from poorly designed change processes rather tha…

This thread continues the same argument: Ben Hunt challenges the conventional wisdom that resistance to change is inherently human nature, arguing instead that our discomfort with change stems from poorly designed change processes rather tha…

Growing Wings: The Power of Change by Ben Hunt belongs on the short shelf of books that change how you notice decisions in the wild. Whether you agree with every claim or not, the frame it offers is portable: you can apply it in meetings, investing, hiring, and personal trade-offs without carrying the whole volume.

Many readers return to this book because it names patterns that felt familiar but unnamed. Naming is leverage: once you can point to a mechanism, you can design around it. One through-line is “Micro-commitments: Small, low-stakes actions that build momentum toward larger behavioral changes without triggering psychological resistance mechanisms.” and its implications for judgment under uncertainty.

If you are reading for execution, translate each chapter into a testable habit: one prompt before a big decision, one review question after a project, one constraint you will respect next quarter. Theory becomes useful when it shows up in calendars, not only in margins.

Finally, pair this book with opposing voices. The strongest readers stress-test the thesis against cases where the advice fails, note the boundary conditions, and keep a short list of when not to use this lens. That discipline is how summaries become judgment.

Long-form books reward spaced attention: read a chapter, sleep, then write a half-page memo titled “What would I do differently on Monday?” If you cannot answer with specifics, the idea has not yet landed.

Use Growing Wings: The Power of Change as a conversation starter with peers who have different incentives. The disagreements often reveal which parts of the book are robust and which are fragile when power, risk, and time horizons change.