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Is your change management process running fast enough?

This free article explores the importance of action and momentum in change management processes. The author is Derek Stockley, a training, learning and performance consultant based in Melbourne, Australia.

The Story of the Lion and Gazelle

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

The moral:

It doesn't matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.

The key word is running - not waiting.

Change management

The story about the lion and gazelle can be considered from a number of levels.

Today, I want to use it in the context of change management.

Many change management programs stall or, in some cases, fail.

They start with a flurry of activity but then they lose momentum. They get bogged down. They stop.

It is hard to keep the momentum going, but it is essential.

One of the best approaches is to break up a large project into a number of smaller projects. Pilot projects are a good example. They are small scale, but they provide the opportunity to get some runs on the board (as well as the opportunity to fix problems).

Success breeds success. Organisations tend to have a short-term focus. People are looking for immediate, tangible results. Change projects need to quickly demonstrate that they are going to provide benefits.

Summary

Change programs must start quickly and keep up the momentum.

Dividing a change program into smaller chunks helps, particularly if you demonstrate positive results.

Personal reflection

Are you action oriented? Do you keep moving forward?

Action items

From a business viewpoint, are our change projects structured correctly? Have we placed enough emphasis on action?

Should this issue be discussed at our next team and/or project meeting?

Your comment

If you have a comment you would like to make, or you would like to share your experience, please send the comment to one of the email addresses listed below.

Related information

* Ensuring change management supports the business - discusses the importance of keeping the business going. Sometimes, organisations stop incremental improvements because a change is in the planning stages. This can be dangerous and is often unnecessary.

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Derek Stockley conducts public training courses in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including a Public Train the Trainer Program. Derek also provides access to an online Certificate 1V in Training and Assessment.

This article was last modified on 24 August 2006.