When managing change, and it starts from teaching children, it's easy as a parent or manager to decide on the change I want.
The child or worker will usually want to carry on as now, or desire a totally different change or changes.
The management style I learned was to get the people to be changed to welcome, even ask for, the change. I can recall quite a few times when I resisted change from above, only to be told by my team that they could see it made sense, was going to happen eventually anyway so we might as well get on with it and do what we could to make it work. They were usually right, and most of the things changed we'd never ever think of going back to.
I deliberately avoid railway context. A triviality. Some may recall deeds being sealed with a seal and sealing wax - our country doctor sealed all his dispensed prescriptions that way. I can't recall when that stopped. How many resisted wearing seat belts - some may still! We used to have traffic policeman, but now have thousands of extra traffic lights. I recall sailing from Hull docks full of cargo vessels being off loaded onto barges. My car was winched aboard the ferry to Norway from North Shields, one of 5 or 6 passenger ferries then plying 3 routes from the Tyne to Scandinavia.
So many rules and operating procedures have changed. In the long run it's only possible to hold the line so far. Co-operation is better than confrontation. That saps the strength of all sides.
We need to move forward, not least because 98% of folks in the north very rarely use trains at the best of times. Getting that 2% who do increased is challenge enough already.
