When does change management start?

“Change management is not about what decisions to make around strategic planning or long-range planning; change management kicks in after a decision has been made, and it’s a very systemic, disciplined methodology.”

It’s a quote from a a big player in the change management training and consulting market. To me, this is one of the silliest, unrealistic pieces of business jargon I have read recently.

It’s absurd to look at change this way. Think about it. Look at the recent health care bill that passed in the United States Congress. Whether you’re for or against the bill passing doesn’t matter. The point is that President Obama had to spend a ton of time and energy convincing members of Congress to make a decision to support change. To look at change management as a methodology and set of skills that “kicks in after a decision has been made” is not only short sighted, it’s one dimensional and does not embrace the holistic nature of change.

Looking at change management as something that kicks in after a decision has been made is like teaching a baseball player to field ground balls but never showing them how to bat.

Look at the change management methodology or tools you’re using
right now. Where does the methodology start? Does it start when the
decision to change has already been made?

For me, whenever I’ve had an idea or saw a need for change, leading change did not start once the decision was made to change. Leading change started once I believed I had an idea worth pursuing, or I saw a change I felt passionate about and needed to convince others of the same. Leading change is about having an idea and moving it through a system to achieve results. That’s why I wrote my ebook/toolkit, Lead Change by Design. Leading change starts well in advance of the decision to make a change.

Change is dynamic and to think you can apply a “very systemic,
disciplined methodology” is equivalent to giving a youngster a hammer and telling them to go build a house. It’s no wonder 60-80% of change efforts continue to fail when leading change management firms teach such a small piece of what it actually takes to realize successful change. Learning how to lead change requires learning how to think about change so you can apply a range of skills and tools to respond to the dynamic nature of change.

What’s your take? When does change management start?