Retail Training Outlet During Pandemic: The Change Curve in Action
When the pandemic shut the doors of a physical coaching institute overnight, its owner moved through Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining and Depression before finding Acceptance — and digital marketing. Here is the full Change Curve story, and how to use it at work.
In March 2020, a coaching institute that had built its entire business on physical, face-to-face classes watched the government announce a lockdown — and watched its revenue go to zero overnight. What the owner did in the weeks that followed is a textbook case of the Change Curve, one of the most practical problem-solving tools in my book Stars at India Inc., and one every leader should know cold before the next crisis lands on their desk.
In short- The Change Curve maps 7 predictable emotional stages we all pass through after unexpected bad news: Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance, Problem-Solving.
- A retail training/coaching outlet built on physical marketing and in-person classes hit every one of these stages when pandemic lockdown regulations shut its doors.
- Depression is the hidden crossroads — you either look back and stay stuck, or look forward and start solving.
- The owner's breakthrough was Acceptance: admitting the old physical-marketing model was over, not just paused.
- Problem-Solving followed fast once Acceptance landed — the business pivoted to digital marketing, online advertising and virtual classes.
Where this sits on your Winning Kite
The Change Curve is a Productivity (PQ) technique on the Winning Kite (KITE Leadership Framework) — it exists to convert emotional disruption into structured problem-solving output. But you cannot fly it on PQ alone. Recognising which stage you are in requires EQ (self-awareness), and getting through the low points faster almost always requires RQ (leaning on your team, your customers, your mentors instead of going it alone). This example shows all three sides working together under real pressure.
Why problems paralyse us before they get solved
In my training rooms, I often start this session with a simple observation: problem-solving looks like a rational, linear activity from the outside — define the problem, list options, pick the best one, execute. But that is not how humans actually experience a real crisis. Before we can solve anything, we have to survive an emotional sequence that has nothing to do with logic and everything to do with how our brains process loss.
This sequence shows up whether the trigger is a business lockdown during a pandemic, a sudden job loss, a team being disbanded, a health scare like a diabetes diagnosis, or money lost in a failed investment. Different triggers, same internal road. That road is what the Change Curve maps — emotional reaction on one axis, time on the other, tracking your morale and performance from the moment the bad news lands to the moment you're back to solving problems productively.
The story: a retail training outlet built entirely on physical marketing
Let me walk you through the example I use in the book. Picture a coaching institute — a retail training outlet in the truest sense, the kind you'll find in almost every Indian city, running classes for students out of a rented space, marketing itself through pamphlets, banners, walk-ins and word of mouth. Every part of its business model depended on physical presence: physical classrooms, physical marketing, physical enrolment drives.
Then the pandemic hit. Government regulations on coaching institutes and non-essential physical gatherings meant the doors had to close, with no clear date for reopening. The owner didn't experience this as one clean decision to “go digital.” They experienced it exactly the way the Change Curve predicts — as a sequence of emotional stages, each one real, each one necessary to pass through before the next could begin.
Stage 1 — Shock
The first reaction, on hearing the lockdown news, was pure shock. The owner could not process that a business built over years of in-person relationships and physical infrastructure could be halted this abruptly. There was disbelief — a gap between what was announced and what felt real. This is normal. Shock is the mind's way of buying time before it has to deal with the size of the blow.
Stage 2 — Denial
As the lockdown extended and its seriousness became clearer, the owner moved into denial. They kept telling themselves the old marketing methods would still work, that this was a temporary blip, that physical classes would resume “any week now.” Denial isn't stupidity — it's the mind protecting itself from a truth it isn't ready to absorb yet. But it also delays the very action that's needed.
Stage 3 — Anger
As weeks turned into months and the need for change became undeniable, anger set in. It felt unfair — years of investment in a physical-marketing approach, in relationships built face to face, suddenly counted for nothing. This is a stage I see constantly in corporate change-management sessions: the anger isn't really at the pandemic or the regulation, it's grief at the loss of something that used to work, expressed as anger because anger feels more active than grief.
Stage 4 — Bargaining
Next came bargaining — the attempt to find a middle path that would let the old model survive in some form. The owner tried limited in-person batches, socially distanced sessions, smaller class sizes. Reasonable ideas, tried in good faith. But they weren't enough. The bargaining stage is where we try to negotiate our way out of accepting the full scale of the change — and it's an important stage, because it proves to us, through direct experience, that half-measures won't work. That proof is what pushes us toward the next stage.
Stage 5 — Depression
When the bargaining attempts failed to keep the business afloat, the owner entered depression — a heavy, overwhelmed feeling about whether the business could survive at all, whether they could adapt fast enough. This is the lowest point on the curve, and it's also, I tell my audiences, the most important one to understand — because depression is a crossroads, not a dead end.
At this crossroads, there are exactly two directions. Look back, and you keep replaying what was lost, letting the negative emotion consume your energy and attention — which only deepens the low and delays recovery. Or look forward — acknowledge the loss, but turn your attention to what can be built from here. That single shift in direction, from backward to forward, is what turns the tide. It is the hinge on which the entire Change Curve turns from decline to recovery.
Stage 6 — Acceptance
Some time after hitting the low point, the owner reached acceptance — genuinely understanding that the old physical-marketing model was not coming back in its previous form, and that adapting was not optional. This is where digital marketing first entered the picture, not as a forced experiment but as a real, considered alternative worth building toward.
Stage 7 — Problem-Solving
Finally, the owner moved into active problem-solving — researching digital marketing strategies, investing in online advertising, building content to attract students in a virtual-first world. The business that emerged on the other side of the curve was not the same business that entered it. It was rebuilt around a new channel, with new skills, and — this matters — with far more resilience for the next disruption, because the owner now had a template for how to move through change.
The lesson: name the stage, don't skip it
The biggest mistake I see leaders make — with themselves and with their teams — is trying to leapfrog straight from Shock to Problem-Solving, skipping Denial, Anger, Bargaining and Depression as if they were optional or unprofessional to feel. They are not optional. They are the price of processing a real loss. What you can control is how long you stay in each stage, and whether you recognise the crossroads at Depression consciously instead of drifting through it.
This connects directly to ideas popularised by change researchers like Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, whose original grief-stages work inspired later change-management models — I bring her framing in only as one light reference point, because the version I teach in Stars at India Inc. is built specifically for Indian workplace and business situations, from lockdown-hit retail outlets to teams facing restructuring.
In my corporate training sessions, I use this exact retail-outlet story because almost every Indian business — big or small — had its own version of this curve during the pandemic. The businesses that recovered fastest were not the ones that avoided Shock, Denial or Anger. They were the ones whose leaders recognised the stage they were in, gave their teams permission to move through Bargaining and Depression honestly, and then deliberately turned the group's attention forward at the crossroads.
How to use the Change Curve at work this week
| Stage | What it looks like | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| Shock | Disbelief, numbness | Give people a moment before demanding decisions |
| Denial | “This will blow over” | Share facts calmly and repeatedly, don't argue |
| Anger | Blame, frustration | Let it be heard without taking it personally |
| Bargaining | Half-measures, workarounds | Let the team test them — failure here builds buy-in |
| Depression | Low energy, doubt | Name the crossroads explicitly: look back or look forward |
| Acceptance | “OK, this is how it is now” | Reinforce the new reality with a clear plan |
| Problem-Solving | Active experimentation | Resource it well — this is where growth happens |
If you're a manager watching your team resist a reorganisation, a founder watching a market shift under your feet, or simply someone processing a personal setback, map yourself onto this curve honestly. Ask: which stage am I actually in? Most people, when I ask this in a live session, know the answer instantly — they just haven't given themselves permission to name it. Naming it is the first act of problem-solving.
This technique pairs powerfully with structured decision tools I cover elsewhere — explore the full technique set in our Signature Programs, or bring this session directly to your team via our corporate training topics.
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Avinash Chate TEDx Speaker · Founder, The Future Corporate · Author of Stars at India Inc. Avinash has trained the Indian Army, BRO, RBI, BARC, JSW Steel and 1000+ corporate leaders across India. His work focuses on leadership, emotional intelligence and behavioural training rooted in Indian values and modern business needs. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Change Curve model?
The Change Curve is a model that maps the predictable emotional stages people and organisations go through when hit by unexpected change — Shock, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance and Problem-Solving. It shows how morale and performance dip before they recover, and helps leaders manage themselves and their teams through disruption.
What happened to the retail training outlet in this story?
A coaching institute that depended entirely on physical, in-person classes was shut down by pandemic lockdown regulations. The owner moved through every stage of the Change Curve — shock at the news, denial that it would last, anger at having to change, bargaining with half-measures like distanced in-person batches, and depression about the business's survival — before finally accepting the new reality and pivoting to digital marketing and online classes.
Why is the Depression stage described as a crossroads?
At Depression, a person or organisation has two choices: look back and keep dwelling on what was lost, which deepens the low, or look forward and start accepting the new reality. That forward-looking shift is what unlocks Acceptance and then Problem-Solving. Recognising this crossroads consciously — instead of drifting through it — is what separates businesses that recover quickly from those that stay stuck.
How does the Change Curve connect to the Winning Kite framework?
The Change Curve sits on the Productivity (PQ) side of the Winning Kite because it is fundamentally a problem-solving tool — it converts emotional disruption into a structured path toward action and results. But moving through it faster depends on the EQ side (self-awareness of which stage you're in) and the RQ side (leaning on your team and customers instead of isolating). Success on the kite always comes from EQ, RQ and PQ working together.
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