Revisiting (Again) | Change or Evolve in 2025? Commentary by Farrell Tan

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Back in 2020, I wrote about the tension between “change” and “evolve.” At the time, we were all staring down the disruptions of the big “C,” asking ourselves whether real progress comes from forcing change or from allowing ourselves to evolve.

I even shared a simple anecdote: a teenager insisting his parents had changed him, while they countered that he had simply evolved; picking what to adopt, what to ignore, and how to apply it in his life. It was a family debate, but the truth of it stuck with me: people rarely change because someone else tells them to. They evolve because the environment nudges them, and because they choose to.

Fast forward five years, and here we are. Different buzzwords, different fires to put out, but the same question is now playing out on a much bigger stage: do we change, or do we evolve?

Change is still everywhere - and noisier than ever

Look around. It’s not just new policies or shifting market cycles anymore. It’s:

  • AI barging in - rewriting job scopes faster than HR can draft new ones.

  • Hybrid and borderless work - great in theory, messy in practice (is “work-life balance” even a thing anymore?).

  • Sustainability pressures - everyone’s got an ESG dashboard now, but how many are actually walking the talk?

  • Generational shifts - Gen Z and the up-and-coming Gen Alpha are demanding transparency, inclusivity, and meaning. And honestly? They’re not wrong.

Change is no longer a polite knock on the door. It’s a battering ram.

Which brings me back: Do we change, or do we evolve?

Change, in its rawest form, is knee-jerk. It’s the company rushing to slap an “AI-powered” label on everything, or the introvert forcing themselves into extrovert mode at every meeting. Sure, it works for a bit, but it’s exhausting and usually unsustainable.

Evolution is slower, stickier, more deliberate. It’s integrating AI thoughtfully; not as a gimmick, but as a tool. It’s redesigning hybrid work so flexibility doesn’t equal 24/7 availability. It’s baking sustainability into the way a company actually operates, not just its annual report.

For organisations in 2025, this isn’t theory - it’s survival

Incremental, evolutionary tweaks - refining policies, nudging culture, streamlining processes - keep you relevant. Revolutionary leaps - new business models, green innovation, AI-first thinking - let you lead. The trick is in knowing when to ease forward and when to leap.

And here’s the kicker for communicators

People don’t hate change. They hate change that feels dumped on them. Evolution, framed well, feels like progress. And progress? People can rally behind that.

At Orchan, this has always been our playground. Orchestrating change - the kind that actually sticks - is less about shouting “new direction!” and more about guiding people, step by step, into evolution.

So five years on, my conclusion hasn’t shifted much, but it’s sharper now: the winners in 2025 won’t be the ones who chase change the fastest. They’ll be the ones who evolve in ways that matter: to their people, to their communities, and yes, to their bottom line too.


Ready to talk about how your organisation can evolve, not just change?
Email us at changenow@orchan.asia or call +603-7972 6377 - let’s make sure your next shift takes you forward.


Original article: Revisiting | Change or Evolve?

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