failed changes

Each of us can list a number of poorly implemented changes in our organizations. Some changes end up behind schedule. Others run over budget. Some face tremendous resistance when employees experience barriers to adoption. Some changes get implemented, but the expected results never materialize. In some cases, changes fail completely and are abandoned. Many of the reasons past projects didn't achieve intended outcomes are tied to mismanaging the people side of change.

Now consider the cost of these failed changes. How much time and money was spent on initiatives that were not fully implemented? What was the impact to the organization from not implementing these changes? Your organization cannot risk the additional cost and missed benefits of poorly managing the human side of change. 

Building the organization-wide competency to manage change effectively can be a cost-avoidance measure that minimizes impacts from failed changes.

Tim Creasey

"Why Organizations Need To Make Change Management a Core Competency," Prosci. Accessed on April 20, 2023

a solution that is technically "right"

Just having a solution that is technically "right" does not guarantee that employees will make the necessary changes to their behaviors and work processes. Employee commitment, buy-in, and adoption do not stem from the rightness of the solution, but rather from the employees moving through their own change process. It takes more than the right solution to move employees out of the current state that they know and into the future state they do not know (and sometimes fear).

Jeffrey M. Hiatt & Timothy J. Creasey

Change Management: The People Side of Change, by Jeffrey M. Hiatt & Timothy J. Creasey Prosci Inc. 2012. P.31

employees doing their jobs differently

The results and outcomes of workplace changes are intrinsically and inextricably tied to individual employees doing their jobs differently. A perfectly designed process that no one follows produces no improvement in performance. A perfectly designed technology that no one uses creates no additional value to the organization. Perfectly defined job roles that are not fulfilled by employees deliver no sustained results. Whether in the workplace, in your community or in government, the bridge between a quality solution and benefit realization is individuals embracing and adopting change.

Jeffrey M. Hiatt & Timothy J. Creasey

Change Management: The People Side of Change, by Jeffrey M. Hiatt & Timothy J. Creasey Prosci Inc. 2012. P.1

talking about myself

Change is incredibly personal. And, as we know, organizational change is the sum of individual changes and making personal decisions to engage, adopt and use a new way of working. Overlook this critical fact at your peril. As psychologist Carl Jung said, "Even when I'm dealing with empirical data, I'm necessarily talking about myself." For me, this means we must focus on the Desire element of the ADKAR Model in particular. “Why should I change? What's in it for me to change?” Really focus on that.

Al Lee-Bourke

10 Tips From Psychology Every Change Leader Should Know by Al Lee-Bourke. Prosci Blog. Accessed on August 4, 2022. 

slow is smooth and smooth is fast

SEALs train with the philosophy slow is smooth and smooth is fast. That’s how movements and behaviors become muscle memory – something imperative in high-speed combat situations. When we are on an enemy target, we move smoothly and dynamically assessing risk and using speed and violence of action only when necessary.

Organizational change fails when companies move too quickly...  skipping fundamental elements such as aligned vision and culture. They run to their death and the change process eventually stalls.

Brent Gleeson

"9 Navy SEAL Sayings That Will Improve Your Organization's Ability To Lead Change," Forbes. July 23, 2018