Creative Interchange Institute, Inc. - Life-Cycle of Change - Phase 4

Lifecycle of Organizational Change

Phase 4 - Decision to Proceed

The business case for change has been assembled. Having identified the need for change, a desirable future, a remedy to attain that future, the current level of organizational change capacity and readiness, the measures of success, benchmarks of progress and the known constraints and supports, a sponsor or group of sponsors can now make a go or no go decision.

A word of caution. Decision-making in organizations (as in other areas of life) is not the purely rational process one might expect. Research has shown decisions are frequently made at an emotional level, and then rationalization takes over to make the decision acceptable. People are people whether they occupy the executive suite, the supervisor's office, or the board of directors. Personal ramifications of change sometimes play a role in decision-making processes.

Advice to Advocates--Don't confuse the strength of your desire for change with the reality of actually being able to make major change happen. The adage "Sell no change before its time" may apply to the current situation. When confronted with the implications, and magnitude of the effort required, sponsors may decide it is a 'no go' because the disruption (in the organization, the marketplace, etc.) is not worth the benefit. Sometimes, this may be a prudent course of action when significant culture change issues have been identified. Culture change eats change for lunch. It is not for the faint of heart, or those lacking organizational fortitude! The alternative for advocates in "No Go" situations is to return to Phase 2, and seek new sponsorship.

When a go-forward decision is made, the initiating sponsor's work now includes:

initial communication efforts,

public identification (legitimizing) of those with planning and
implementation responsibilities (change agents), and

building a sustaining sponsorship network throughout the impacted
areas of the organization. It's rare, indeed, for a Senior Executive to
decree a change from the top, and for that change to be fully implemented,
and integrated, without other key sponsors reinforcing the change.

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	*initial communication efforts*,
	public identification (legitimizing) of those with planning and implementation responsibilities (change agents), and
	*building a sustaining sponsorship network* throughout the impacted areas of the organization. It's rare, indeed, for a Senior Executive to decree a change from the top, and for that change to be fully implemented, and integrated, without other key sponsors reinforcing the change.