What is Force Field Analysis
Force Field Analysis is a strategic analysis and decision-making method developed by Kurt Lewin. In this article, you’ll find two personal examples to see how you can use Force Field Analysis in your life.
Every decision requires a change.
Think about it.
If you decide to gain muscle; you have to change your diet and training program.
If you decide to quit your job and start a business; you have to change your mindset and activities.
And each of these changes has driving and resisting forces.
The potato chips in your cupboard are a resisting force to change your diet.
But your desire to get fit is a driving force for it.
In big organizations, executives use force field analysis to map these forces for big decisions.
Why?
First, this allows them to understand if the decision is doable.
If the resisting forces are too strong (shareholders’ opinion, employees’ reluctance, etc.), the decision is not worth the effort.
And second, if the decision makes sense, they can identify what are the priority actions that will make the change smoother.
So the decision can turn into reality.
Now, let’s see how to use force field analysis.
Two Personal Force Field Analysis Examples
Example 1: Moving to a new city
Imagine you are considering moving to a new city.
Now, this is a big change in your life.
So first, map the driving and resisting forces of the change.
Think about the factors that will make it easy and hard.
Then, give a point to each of them (out of 10) based on its impact.
Driving forces:
- More career opportunities (8)
- The chances to meet different people (4)
- Support from your partner (9)
- Better weather and beach access (3)
Total points: 24
Resisting forces:
- Your children don’t want to move because of their school (8)
- You only have a few friends in the new city (7)
- The feeling of starting from scratch (5)
Total points: 20
In this case, the driving forces are already stronger. But to make it even easier, you can focus on reducing the impact of resisting forces:
- Find good schools in the new city
- Communicate with your children about the positive aspects of the change and involve them in the decisions (school, new house, etc.)
- Contact your friends to find out if they know more people in the new city
- Frame the negative feeling of “starting from scratch” as “a new beginning.”
Example 2: Starting your own business
Another example: you are about to decide to start your own business.
Driving forces:
- Freedom (10)
- Potential unlimited upside (8)
- Learning more (7)
- Doing the things you want, your way (5)
Total points: 30
Resisting forces:
- The comfort of a regular income (10)
- Fear of failure (7)
- Uncertainty (6)
- Hard to gain initial traction (4)
- No entrepreneurship experience (5)
Total points: 32
This time, the resisting forces are stronger. So you either change your mind or work on weakening the resisting forces:
- Embrace failure as a part of the process, instead of something to escape from
- Hire a mentor to learn faster
- Start before quitting your job as a safety net
The forces (and the impact points) of each decision will be personal to you.
But you see how Force Field Analysis can make your decisions easier.
So use it to turn your life and business plans into reality.
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