Grove argues that significant change rarely occurs through a smooth replacement of one established system by another. When existing methods, structures or assumptions begin to lose their usefulness, organisations often have to test alternatives before they know what will work. This period can produce uncertainty, competing approaches and temporary disorder.

The quote presents experimentation and instability as common features of transition rather than necessarily as signs that change has failed. Managers may need to tolerate some ambiguity while new practices are tested, assessed and refined. At the same time, experimentation still requires judgement and attention to results; disorder alone does not guarantee improvement. Grove’s broader point is that organisations should not expect major change to proceed in a perfectly controlled sequence. Moving from an established way of working to a more suitable one may require a period in which old routines weaken before new arrangements have become reliable.