Research and Insights Archive

Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations

Stop Naming Your Change (and Transformation) Programs!

Stop Naming Your Change (and Transformation) Programs!

Organizations often give catchy names to transformation initiatives to create focus and signal their importance, but this practice can unintentionally reinforce the idea that change is temporary, leading to disillusionment and cynicism when further changes arise. Instead, aligning efforts with ongoing strategies and framing them as part of a continuous process, like “LRP Activation,” fosters clarity, engagement, and a culture where change becomes a normal and accepted part of organizational life.

Diagnosing and adjusting transformations to ensure success

Diagnosing and adjusting transformations to ensure success

This article is the third in a three-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change), why transformations often fail to deliver (Designing transformations to avoid failure), and how to keep transformations from going off course (this one). It is based in part on my Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.

Designing transformations to avoid failure

Designing transformations to avoid failure

This article is the second in a three-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change), why transformations often fail to deliver (this one), and how to keep transformations from going off course (Diagnosing and adjusting transformations to ensure success)). It is based in part on my Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming virtual workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.