Not sure what's the big deal. The markets want X. The employees don't. In most cases, the markets pay employee salaries and not the other way around, so it's quite clear who must fold. Now as a founder and CEO / Leader, it is your role to present it and sell it. Not late but to move in advance of the market moving, so it comes off as smart as opposed to "but we had no choice" A good example is WFH during Covid. Firms who went remote early did better than those who plodded through the process. And this is about taking a firm decision fast. Not being all namby-pamby and wobbly about it. Seek all the counsel you want, offline, in a few days. Then announce it as a decision. You will find that the markets reward you. And your employees too.

To effectively navigate employee resistance to market-driven changes, focus on clear communication and active involvement. Begin by educating employees about the change's purpose and benefits to address fears and uncertainties. Involve them in the process through feedback and discussions, fostering a sense of ownership. Provide training and support to build confidence in adapting to new roles or technologies. Demonstrate leadership commitment by modeling desired behaviors and maintaining open communication channels. "Engage employees early to transform resistance into resilience."

Listen first. Talk second. I've been through multiple, significant transitions like this in companies. Leadership is quick to talk, to tell, to sell. That's ineffective. It's important to sit down with team members and understand their perspective on change, what it means to them, what they fear, what they think would be of benefit in the change process. Over time, if you build trust, employees will be more willing to listen. But you, as a leader, must listen first.

Trying to "sell" the change to employees misses the point. Resistance often stems from a sense of powerlessness, not opposition to the idea itself. Instead of framing change as top-down, invite employees to co-author the path forward. Steve Jobs famously said, "It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do." Engage their expertise to refine the approach. True buy-in comes when the team feels like co-pilots, not passengers on a pre-determined flight.

In my experience, inertia and fear of change hold many employees back from embracing change. True whether front line, manager or exec. I sometimes use a slide that has pictures of 20 years of mobile devices/cell phones starting in 2000. Motorola, Nokia, Blackberry, iPhone, etc. ending with current iPhone/Android. I ask how much change was needed to evolve the tech. What happened to companies and employees that lagged. I was recently asked, "Will AI eliminate jobs?" No. Employees that know how to use AI will eliminate the jobs of those that don't.