The ABC Technique

This is a simple, but elegant, method, devised by Finn Tschudi, (1977) that provides a very useful framework for identifying why people don't change or what may stop them from embracing change. The model looks at the meaning applied by the individual on the change, what they see as its benefits, the downside and implications resulting from changing.

In many ways it is similar to the four key coaching questions used in NLP (what will you get if you get it, what won't you get, what will you get if you don't get it and what won't you get) and looks to get at the underlying resistances to change. 

However, in my opinion, it is presented in a more accessible way for both client and consultant.

The model can best be described as a way of looking at the current situation, the desired (or new situation) and then identifying the advantages and disadvantages of if them both!

So you first identify the current and desired situations (A). then you, in effect, brainstorm or list all the negative things associated with the current situation and all the positive things you'll get by moving to the new situation or behaviour (B).

Finally, and to my mind the most powerful part of the model, you identify all the things you'll either be loosing by moving and/or all the negative associations with moving. You then look at what, if any, positives do you get from the current situation, what are the good things about the here and now, what do you get from carrying on as normal, etc. (C).

Once you have completed your lists you can then start to analyse the answers with your client. You are looking for potential blockers to change. You need to start exploring relative values and weightings of these blockers and decide how to overcome them.

If row C contains anything that is more important than row B the person will resist changing! This allows you to manage the change process and overcome the blockers.

Hopefully, in order to help make sense of the technique, below is a "worked example" that I've used in the past to help bring the model to life.

As you can see from the list below, there are some issues that have been identified that need addressing before the client would stop smoking. These reasons  may explain why people do not give up smoking. 

However, and probably more importantly, they may not have come up at all if, as is usual with a lot of change management, the focus of the consultant had been on the advantages of moving and the disadvantages of staying the same (as identified in row B).

A	Current state I smoke 40 a day	Desired state I want to stop smoking
B	Disadvantages   ×    Expensive ×    Bad for your health ×    Smokers cough ×    Bad breath ×    Food tasteless ×    Clothes/hair smell of smoke ×    Antisocial now	Advantages   ü Have more money ü Less chance of lung cancer, etc. ü Taste food
C	Advantages   ü De-stresses me ü Lets me take a break (and if I leave a tricky job for a smoke I usually find I've cracked it when I get back) ü Social (in the smoking shelter chat, get latest gossip, meet mates, etc.) ü Something to do with my hands	Disadvantages   × Put on weight × Stuck at desk all day × Miss friends × Get irritable × Get stressed up × Enjoy the taste × Withdrawal symptoms × Always smoked × I actually don't want too!   And anyway the chances of me getting cancer, etc. are pretty slim - my dad smoked all his life and he's as fit as a fiddle!

 

source:

Tschudi F. (1977), Loaded and Honest Questions, in Bannister D (ed), New Perspectives in Personal Construct Theory, Academic Press, London