Haircuts and Change

“You look like a hippie,” my wife said.

Now, my wife, who no doubt sees herself as a kind of guardian angel when it comes to my personal appearance, was simply trying to let her poor husband (me) know that he needed to get a haircut. But before anyone starts to think that I may have actually looked like a hippie, allow me to mention that my hair might have been two inches long on top. Still, this week I somehow managed to find myself paying a visit to my local barber.

Now, my barber, who has been a barber for about 30 years and who I happen to be on good terms with, is in the process of moving his business. This week he informed me that as of May 1^st, he will be barbering from a new location, about five miles from his current shop, and will be reducing his workload to part-time. Naturally I was curious about whether or not openings were available in his clientele. “Of course,” he said. He then proceeded to explain a bit about how the barber business works.

He told me that when a barber moves his business, even if he moves it “next door,” he immediately loses about a third of his clientele. He can expect to retain a third as loyal customers. And this leaves him with a remaining third to account for. He told me that the last third of clients is made up of people who are curious about “what is going to happen.” “Gawkers,” as he put it. They might show up at his new location for a haircut or a shave, but only to “check up” on the proprietor, probing around to see if he's going to “make it.” After they have satisfied themselves, they either stay on as customers, or mysteriously disappear. When the “gawking-process” is over, about half of them remain. All in all, if and when a barber moves his business, he can safely expect to lose about half of his clients.

But why? Isn't this little scenario somewhat odd? After all, it's the same barber. It's the same equipment. It's the same service. Yes, the location is different, but unless the barber has moved an unreasonable driving distance, why is it almost guaranteed that he will lose half of his client base? One word: change. People don't like change. Change is something that we tend to fear. Some of us manage it without much difficultly. While others are terrified of it and will do almost anything to avoid it. The prospect of change requires us to face a fear of the unknown. It requires that we step out of our comfort zone, which is an action we human beings are not especially fond of.

But this outlook, though widespread, is deeply irrational. Go ask someone whether or not their life is perfect. If they are honest, and unless they happen to be insane, they will surely reply that it is not. Most everyone will admit there are areas in their life that they would like to improve. But improvement itself presupposes change. Change is a necessary component of progress. Without change, we cannot improve ourselves or our circumstances. Yet, most of us are terrified of it. Is it possible that our fear of change is working against us? Is it possible that such fears are preventing us from bettering ourselves or our circumstances?

Fortunately for my wife, I will continue as a client after my barber moves.

Companion reading: Lesson VI: Fear and Action.