By Laur ie Axelrod and Beth McDonald

The Methodand theMAGICAn Integrated Approach to Change Management and Communications

“They say thattime changesthings, but youactually haveto change themyourself.”

- Andy Warhol

Every leader is at some point called uponto lead change. Imagine for a minute that it’syour turn. You’ve been asked to spearheadan acquisition or reorganization within yourcompany. Tapped to introduce a new systemor process. Chances are you’ve been selectedto lead this important initiative based uponyour reputation, experience, expertise or allthree. That’s good, right? So, how do you feel?

Yay! Yikes!Excited? Nervous? You probably feel acombination of both, something we call “Yay!Yikes!” Yay, because being chosen to managechange is a strong vote of confidence in youand your work. Yikes, because change can bedaunting and often difficult—and manycompanies don’t do it well. The stakes arehigh and the statistics can be discouraging.

You could just dive in. You know your busi-ness; you have good support within yourcompany. Who’s to say you won’t succeed?A word of caution—the odds are against you.

Nearly 70% of change initiatives fall short oftheir goals, according to Harvard BusinessSchool leadership professor and changeguru, John Kotter.i What is the fallout fromfalling short? Pretty damaging. Unsuccessfulorganizational change is among the topreasons chief executives are fired, accountingfor nearly a third of terminations, accordingto a recent study.ii Yikes.

We want to help you through this. To shareour method for successful change manage-ment and the magic that makes it happen.But before we get to how to do it right, it’shelpful to look at how it can go wrong.

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Turn and Face theStrange Ch-Ch-ChangesAny internal initiative, large or small, can onlysucceed when these two components: changemanagement (understanding what’s needed tomove an organization from the current to the futurestate and using those insights to help people em-brace change) and communications (conceivingand distributing memorable, compelling messagesthat will drive behavioral change) work in concertwith one another. Many organizations keep thesetwo disciplines separate—and to disastrous effect.

Here’s an example. The CEO of a large chain ofhome improvement stores, upon taking the helm,quickly saw the need for efficiency and cost-cuttingadjustments. A take-charge temperament and avidnumbers guy, this CEO set out to install self-check-out lanes and a sophisticated inventory controlsystem in the stores. As he implemented theseimprovements, he also instructed managers tosave money by cutting staff.

What this leader missed was that the chain’sknowledgeable sales staff and personal-touchcustomer service were the very characteristics thatdrove its strong revenues and repeat customers.If he had engaged store managers prior to com-municating his vision, he would have gainedvaluable information and perhaps approachedchange differently. Instead, he alienated his staffand the changes flopped, both contributingfactors to his termination.

The importance of engaging your team as part ofany change management and communicationsstrategy cannot be overstated. We once told aclient, the CEO of a large organization, that the firststep to success is developing a shared vision withhis staff. Common sense, right? We thought so,too. So you can imagine our surprise when he re-sponded: “That’s already done. I have a vision andI just shared it with them.” These common—andoften costly—mistakes, like others we’ve witnessedover the years, revealed to us the pitfalls of keepingchange management and communication onseparate tracks.

But we weren’t quite sure what to do about it.Until, one day, it came together for us.

The Peanut Butter Cup MomentDuring the 1980s, Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cupsran a commercial in which a pretty young womanis walking down the street, listening to music onher headphones and eating a jar of peanut butter(who does that?). At the same time, a handsomeyoung man is coming from the other direction,also with headphones on, eating a chocolate bar.They bump into one another.

“You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!”she says. “Well, you got peanut butter on mychocolate!” he replies. They taste the novelblending of ingredients and exclaim: “It’s deli-cious.” And they realize that peanut butter andchocolate are “two great tastes that taste greattogether.”

Our professional partnership and integratedchange management and communications magicwas sparked in a similar way. About fifteen yearsago, we were collaborating on a major companyturnaround. At the time this company, like manyorganizations, kept communications and changemanagement separate: Beth leading changemanagement, Laurie leading communications. Itwas a clarifying moment.

The company had a new CEO with a fresh visionwho set in motion a series of organizational trans-formation efforts, called “The CEO’s Top 10.” Butunlike Moses, whose leadership needed no morethan a divine stamp of approval, getting loyaltyand buy-in for this CEO’s Ten Commandmentsrequired deep insight into the hearts and mindsof his people.

Beth got that insight—through takeaways frominterviews and meetings, statistics from surveys,and executive input. Her data was comprehensiveand thorough—but it was an assemblage of facts.

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Laurie reviewed the treasure-trove of informationand realized she could craft a narrative that gavethe audience the details they needed to hear, inthe way they needed to hear it.

Beth’s message now had a medium; Laurie’s mediahad a message. And together we created a cycle oftargeted communication, feedback and dialogue–up, down and across the changing organization.Communicating about change based solely uponwhat executives thought their audiences wantedto hear hadn’t gotten the whole job done. Weowed it to our clients to find out what the audiencewas thinking and feeling, and tailor the messageto successfully encourage new behaviors.

How Does Your Company Stack Up?Once we understood that organizational transfor-mation required clearly defined change manage-ment and communications plans woven together,we set out to gather data. What were companiesdoing well? Where were they falling short?

We reached out to upper-level professionals withmore than 20 years experience in varying fields—from IT and government to non-profit andhospitality—and surveyed them about theirexperiences with effective (and sometimesnot so effective) change management andcommunications strategies.

The answers were telling. While the vast majorityof respondents believed change managementand communications strategies were essential toorganizational transformation, many felt that theircompanies were not adequately putting thesestrategies into practice:

83% of respondents said working withstakeholders to get consensus about vision,tagline and success criteria was essential,but more than half conceded their com-panies did not do it well enough.

More than two thirds said using multiplecommunications channels to share changes was essential, but more than 35% said they did not achieve it.

About 70% called message testingprior to rolling out to a big audiencecrucial, with 50% saying they didnot put the strategy into practicesuccessfully.

While 74% believed in being truthfulwith employees as early as legallypermissible, only 30% said they didthis adequately.

A full three quarters of respondentsfelt involving an executive sponsorwas critical to success, but a merequarter felt they did this sufficiently.

The Method and the MagicTo ensure the success oforganizational changeinitiatives, we recommenda multi-disciplineapproach that integrateschange managementand com munications.

Our method has come out of years of helpingclients navigate change effectively, and hasworked wonders for organizations big andsmall, public and private.

Some of what we’re saying may not seem new.Many researchers back up the importance ofsolid communication and change managementin achieving large-scale transition. Where ourapproach is unique is its seamless integrationand execution of the two disciplines.

We know our method is sound, because it’sbased upon common-sense principles, informedby the best thinking in our field and guided byknowledge of human behavior. It’s more than amethod. Much more. There’s an element ofmagic that comes from knowing your audience,listening to their needs and being creative inhow you reach them.

Unlike many magicians, we’re willing to revealhow we pull the rabbit from the hat.

M AG I CTHE

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The Method and the Magic

STEP ONE:BUILD THE BIG PICTUREIn the first step, we define visionand determine what success willlook like from the perspective

of those involved. We gauge readiness anddevelop commitment from the project team.

MAGIC: Recognize that there is no ideal vision.Perfectionism is an impediment to change. Andthe processes of defining the vision, who you in-volve and how you engage them is just as impor-tant as the end product.

STEP TWO:REMOVE THE GUESSWORKNow, it’s time to identify criticalstakeholders, group them intofour distinct categories

(champions, advisors, implementers andimpacted employees) and determine theirimpact by the change.

MAGIC: Be collaborative. Share the big pictureand gather reactions, input and concerns fromyour stakeholders. And here’s a big one—don’tdo a stakeholder analysis without members ofthe stakeholder group in the room.

STEP THREE: GET THE MESSAGE RIGHTNext, we develop a balancedmessage using insights from thestakeholder analysis.

MAGIC: Take the time to share with a smallergroup first. Even the most seasoned executiveshave earned a few scars neglecting this step.Find out how the message will sit with your in-tended audience. What you learn could save acareer—perhaps your own.

STEP FOUR: PREPARE THE STAKEHOLDERSThen, we create and deploya plan that prepares eachstakeholder group for the

change. Activities may include training, toolsand reference guides.

MAGIC: Don’t start with this step, rememberto build the big picture, remove the guessworkand get the message right first. Steps one andtwo are not a luxury and they don’t have to takea long time. There are some magical shortcutswe’ve developed through the years.

STEP FIVE:EVALUATE RESULTSFinally, we evaluate the successof the initiative and makecontinual refinements to improve

business results.

MAGIC: If you followed the first four steps,you should be enjoying the benefits of success-ful organizational change and communication.

Back to you. It’s go-time. You’re charged withinitiating change within your company and youwant it to succeed. You want to gather the rightinsights and communicate them effectively toyour audience. You want to make changes thatwill be heard and understood—and impact yourbusiness in positive, long-lasting ways.

It may seem intimidating but, by utilizing anintegrated approach to change managementand communications, you can face the challengewith confidence and perhaps begin to see changeas the very instrument of your organization’sability to survive and thrive in today’s competi-tive landscape.

BUILD BIG PICTURETHE

REMOVE GUESSWORKTHE

GET MESSAGE RIGHTTHE

PREPARE STAKEHOLDERSTHE

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EVALUATE RESULTSTHE

i Kotter, John P. 1998. Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. In Harvard Business Review on Change. Pp. 1-20. Boston, MA: Harvard Business SchoolPress. Originally published in HBR 1995 (March-April).

ii Murphy, M. (2005). Leadership IQ Study: Mismanagement, Inaction among the Real Reasons Why CEOs Get Fired. Retrieved on 23 July 2014 fromhttp://www.hr.com/en/communities/training_and_development/leadership-iq-study-mismanagement-inaction-among-t_eak34wir.html

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor themost intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

– Leon Megissen, summarizing Charles Darwin