Change Readiness vs. Change Management

Is your company and organization ready for the next big change? Study after study show that 70% to 80% of all Corporate changes fail AND 80% of the failure can be blamed on not having an adequate Change Management Plan. Yet most leaders when asked how to prepare for the next change, they will focus on product initiatives, customer penetration or technology enhancements.

Not only are we failing, we are failing to understand failure! Everyone knows that “Change is Constant,” so if you don’t want to be part of the 70% that are not successful what do you do? Change your company’s Organizational Development philosophy from Change Management to Change readiness:

• Change Management by definition is reactive, after the fact and while helpful, the proverbial horse has already left the building (to mix metaphors).
• Change Readiness is all about being in front of change: being prepared for change. Change Ready companies demonstrate the ability to continuously initiate change on their own which keeps them ahead of the `typical external sources for change.

What should you do if you want to be in front of the pack instead of sweeping up after the horse? Consider a Change Management Assessment as a first step. The assessment will determine if your Company is capable of delivering exceptional business results during a period of significant or routing change. Are you a Cheetah or the Titanic? Are you quick/agile/adaptive or slow/ponderous/entrenched? Do you embrace change or put up barriers? The Assessment will examine:

• Strategic Plan,
• Employee Practices, policies and procedures,
• Performance Management/Evaluation systems,
• Business Results/Scorecard, Goals and Action Plans,
• Communication Strategies,
• Vision, Mission, Values alignment and utilization, and
• Diversity and Inclusion programs.

Once the assessment is complete, you can create a series of activities that will transform your organization into an effective change ready company. So before your next big change hits, create a plan to become Change Ready. We will discuss what a Change Readiness Plan entails in a future blog. Subscribe below to Group50’s blog to stay on top of the latest trending topics:

About the author:
Bruce Dougan is the head of Group50’s Organization Design and Development Practice. Bruce and the Group50 team are all former executives with well-known manufacturing and distribution companies who understand what it takes to design, train, develop and motivate organizations to successfully implement a company’s strategic plan. Group50 has designed a series of strategic assessments, workshops and strategic execution tools that eliminate the existence of Anti-Strategy. You can reach us at (909) 949-9083 or send a note to info@group50.com.

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