diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 271b290..d77e777 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ cobertura:
 # Update the submodules, such as the common build scripts.
 submodules:
 	@git submodule sync
-	@git submodule update --remote --recursive
+	@git submodule update --init --recursive
 
 # This is for running out-of-cluster locally, and is for convenience. Running
 # this make target will print out the command which was used. For more control,
@@ -242,4 +242,4 @@ crossplane.help:
 
 help-special: crossplane.help
 
-.PHONY: crossplane.help help-special
\ No newline at end of file
+.PHONY: crossplane.help help-special