Company leaders often ask us about common pitfalls associated with organizational change initiatives and how they can avoid them. The term “pitfall,” defined as a hidden danger in the form of a covered pit used as a trap, implies a sudden occurrence. We prefer the term quagmire which more accurately describes what actually occurs in […]
A few months ago I sat in two meetings on the same day at the same company. The first was an executive working session on a new AI initiative. The leaders in the room were sincere, optimistic, and operating from genuinely good intentions. They believed the rollout would unlock capacity for higher-value work, reduce drudgery, […]
Establishing a sense of urgency at all levels of the organization is a necessary first step in gaining the cooperation required to drive a significant change effort. Half of the companies that fail to affect needed change make their mistakes at the very beginning by not creating an appropriate sense of urgency. The approach most […]
Interviewing stakeholders, along with focus groups and surveys, is one of the primary methods of gathering qualitative data. Insights gleaned from stakeholder interviews provide the basis for stakeholder analysis and prioritization and serve as a critical step in formulating an effective organizational change strategy. Stakeholder interviews done well yield many benefits: Correct structures, processes, and […]
The first time someone walks me through their stakeholder list on a major initiative, the document usually has one of two problems. Either everyone in the org has been listed (which is functionally the same as no one being prioritized), or the list reflects who the project sponsor happens to know personally (which is functionally […]
Stakeholder resistance, if it gains a foothold on a large scale, can threaten to derail even the most positive change effort. There are four primary reasons1 that people resist change. Once you know what types to look for, you will be better equipped to spot change resistance in your organization. After you have identified the […]
Walk into any company right now and you will find a leadership team trying to absorb more change than the organization can metabolize. AI is reshaping roles. ERP and cloud platforms are still grinding through their multi-year rollouts. Cost programs have replaced growth programs in half the boardrooms I sit in. And the workforce, after […]
Just Because You’ve Communicated Doesn’t Mean They’ve Heard You It’s not uncommon for project teams and executive sponsors to suffer from what’s known as the “curse of knowledge,” a term coined in the book Made to Stick. In a nutshell, the curse of knowledge is the psychological phenomenon where once you know something well, it’s […]
Jesse Jacoby
