This article is for people who have tried to help change actually take hold—whether in customer success, DevOps, Agile, AI, organizational design, transformation programs, or as independent change agents—and have noticed that what works deeply doesn’t always spread, and what spreads doesn’t always change behavior.
A Theory of Change Adoption and Integration as a Wave
Most change efforts don’t fail dramatically.
They lose momentum.
People engage.
They agree.
They adopt the language for a time.
And then—often quietly—behavior settles back into familiar patterns.
I’ve seen this repeatedly across years of experimentation inside large enterprises like SAP, across multiple departments and teams, as well as in small and medium sized organizations and in open, public experiments outside formal institutions.
What follows is not a theory born from failure alone.
It emerged from where change worked, where it didn’t, and—most importantly—where it continued to move.
Change Integration Is Wave-Like
Change does not integrate linearly.
It moves in waves.
Energy rises, concentrates, disperses, and reforms—often in new places, with new people, and under new conditions. Some waves collapse early. Others amplify. Some seed entirely new waves elsewhere.
Understanding change adoption requires paying attention not just to what is introduced, but to how people make sense of, influence, and carry that movement forward over time.
The Circle~Dojo model emerged as a way to understand and work with this movement.
Productive Tension Is the Driver
Nothing in a living system moves without tension.
- Not learning
- Not adoption
- Not behavior change
But tension is not uniform.
Different people move under different conditions:
- Some are drawn forward by curiosity and contradiction
- Others need recognition and familiarity first
- Some lean into pressure
- Others withdraw until the context shifts
Most change efforts fail because they treat tension as something to either eliminate or apply consistently.
In practice, tension must be modulated.
That modulation happens through patterns of interaction.
Where This Model Came From
This model did not begin as a framework.
It emerged from observing the same dynamics across:
- multiple departments and initiatives
- different leadership styles and readiness profiles
- structured enablement efforts
- informal, voluntary communities
- internal transformation work and open, public experimentation
In some contexts, Dojo-style work produced real capability:
- practices held under pressure
- behaviors changed, not just language
- people developed discernment and skill
But those efforts often struggled to spread.
In other contexts, Circle-based communities thrived:
- participation was high
- trust formed quickly
- people told their own stories
But those efforts often struggled to translate into durable behavioral change.
The same two patterns kept appearing.
What changed was which one led, and when.
Circle and Dojo as Patterns
Circle and Dojo describe distinct social patterns that shape how tension, recognition, learning, and influence behave.
They function as field conditions, but they are also patterns that can emerge naturally or be instantiated intentionally.
They coexist in healthy change systems, evolve at very different rates, and serve different functions in the wave.
Circle: Recognition, Language, and Local Adaptation
A Circle is an adaptive, low-gradient pattern.
It shapes how people orient, make sense of what’s happening, and recognize themselves in what is emerging.
Circle enables:
- shared language formation
- storytelling in one’s own voice
- recognition (“people like me are here”)
- local adaptation of meaning and practice
Recognition is central.
Change spreads not because people understand a model, but because they recognize themselves in others’ experiences, adapt the language locally, and retell those experiences authentically.
When recognition happens:
- tension lowers for that person
- engagement becomes easier
- movement feels voluntary
Circles are ephemeral and versatile.
They evolve quickly with local context, appear and fade, and seed new Circles elsewhere.
This adaptability allows Circles to:
- reduce friction
- invite participation
- modulate tension for others
- influence how the movement is interpreted locally
This is how change spreads laterally.
Dojo: Practice, Constraint, and Durability
A Dojo is a stable, high-gradient pattern.
Unlike Circle, the Dojo evolves much more slowly.
Its strength comes from being grounded in first principles, not local adaptation.
The Dojo forms a root system and trunk:
- roots anchored in fundamentals
- a trunk that carries practice across time
- stability that allows real capability to form
Because of this grounding, the Dojo:
- preserves form
- protects rigor
- allows practice to deepen across waves of change
The Dojo does not chase the wave.
It holds the center the wave returns to.
A Signal of Change Integration
Across contexts, one signal appears consistently:
Once people have experienced these patterns, they stop using qualifiers.
They no longer say:
- “that leadership circle”
- “that DevOps dojo”
They say:
- “The Circle”
- “The Dojo”
This shift in language matters.
It signals that people are no longer observing change from the outside.
They have entered the Change Wave.
The Wave Pattern of Change Integration
Change integration unfolds as an oscillation.
- Orientation and curiosity → Circle leads
- Early adoption → Circle leads, Dojo becomes visible
- Capability formation → Dojo leads, Circle supports
- Diffusion and expansion → Circle leads again
People who practice in the Dojo return to broader contexts, tell their own stories, adapt language locally, and reduce tension for others.
New Circles form.
Some deepen.
Some fade.
Some seed new waves elsewhere.
This is recognition-based diffusion.
The Flower Pattern
One way to visualize the wave is as a living system:
- The Dojo forms a grounded center—roots and trunk
- Circles appear like petals, shaped by local conditions
- Some petals deepen
- Some fade
- Some seed new growth elsewhere
The system grows through variation at the edges and stability at the core.
Innovators, Early Adopters, and Connectors
Different people interact with the wave differently.
- Innovators are drawn by curiosity and contradiction and tolerate higher tension
-
Early adopters need recognition before committing to practice
-
Connectors play a crucial role:
- translating language
- adapting meaning locally
- reducing friction
- modulating tension for others
- carrying stories across networks
Connectors are not generally practitioners in the Dojo, or they do not progress very far within it.
That is not a weakness.
Their role is not depth.
Their role is movement.
Without Connectors, the wave stalls.
Without the Dojo, the wave loses coherence.
What the Circle~Dojo Model Helps Answer
This model helps answer questions such as:
- What kind of tension is present right now?
- Who needs recognition, and who is ready for practice?
- Which pattern should lead at this moment?
- Why did something work deeply but fail to spread—or spread without depth?
- Where is the wave strengthening, and where is it dissipating?
The Governing Insight
Circle enables recognition, local language, and influence. Dojo preserves form, first principles, and depth of practice. Change integrates through waves.
When this rhythm is understood, adoption stops feeling forced and starts feeling inevitable.
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