When you’re in a position of leadership, it’s likely because you’re decisive and able to take big leaps with confidence… you’re a daredevil. This trait is valuable, but it may not always be effective when trying to persuade your team to embrace your big idea.
A well-balanced mix of the familiar and the fresh is what makes for effective big change, not jumping 20 buses on your motorcycle. People crave both trust and surprise.
Studies show we initially like what we know (exposure builds comfort), but we get bored if a message never changes. The sweet spot is a “creative curve” sweet spot: ideas that are familiar enough to feel safe, yet new enough to grab attention.
People only like something new once they understand it.
Raymond Loewy’s “MAYA” principle (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable) captures this: “Push just far enough to feel new, but not so far customers reject it.” In practice that means don’t reinvent the wheel if you can repaint it. Too much repetition is boring; too much randomness is confusing; balanced variation makes a message memorable, emotional, and even shareable. Marketers often call this anchored differentiation. Where you dare to innovate in one area while keeping familiar anchors elsewhere. Too much newness overwhelms, and too much comfort dissolves into clichés.
Employees may dread throwing out the old playbook, so smart leaders frame new strategies as natural extensions of current practice. For example, one content framework advises showing people how “adopting your solution doesn’t really mean a big change but it’s a natural extension of what they already do.” To my cinephile friends, change is a sequel, not a remake.
“Creativity is not chaos. It is structured freedom.” – John Danaher
When Airbnb rebranded in 2014, CEO Brian Chesky demonstrated this concept. He explained that although “people thought Airbnb was about renting houses… really, we’re about home,” and with their rebrand everyone could “belong anywhere.” In other words, Chesky anchored the new Belong Anywhere campaign in the familiar comfort of “home” (the existing user mindset) while expanding it to mean a global community. He rolled out a new logo and positioning step by step, always tying fresh ideas back to what customers already valued. This evolutionary approach (big vision, timely execution, small surprises) kept the team aligned and the market engaged. The result was a memorable campaign that felt both innovative and authentically Airbnb.
Leaders who learn to “repaint, not reinvent” will spark just enough excitement and achieve steady growth. You might have to get off the motorcycle and walk beside the buses but over time, you and your team will finally embrace your big idea.
