Why Most Changes Fail
Organizational development has been known for almost more than 70 years. And yet the failure rate has not improved from around 75%, at least not in the 20+ years that I have been studying this topic professionally. In my experience, in most cases it is coming down to the following:
The social impact of economically necessary changes (e.g. through restructuring) is underestimated. I say it again: people before numbers, guys! It will save you a lot of trouble.
Conflicts are evaluated as the resistance of the organization. But there is the thing: conflicts are pure gold. On the one hand, they provide information and, on the other hand, they are always an opportunity for communication.
The implementation of change projects is always decided at the top of organizations but carried out further below in the hierarchy. The responsible project managers often do not have the degree of penetration or access to relevant networks in the organization to go smoothly through the change project.
Too much change is expected in too little time. As a result, the system acts overwhelmed (see nb 2). In times of change, small steps count carried out continuously.
The narratives remain the same or get too much abstracted from corporate communication. Instead, new and natural narratives could both guide through changes and represent the desired state. Media that primarily transport emotions, such as the human voice in podcasts, would support every change process.
Find more reasons why change efforts failed in this great article published by BCG Henderson Institute (please do not click on this link if you don’t wish to leave this website.)