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Successfully implementing change in an organization or business is one of the most critical challenges facing mid-level managers today. 

 

Real commitment to a project goes a long way to ensuring that a project is completed on time, on budget and to be considered a success. As stated by Zig Ziglar “Most people are about as committed as a, Kamikaze pilot on his 29th mission”.  So why is commitment such a problem. The short answer is that we all tend to sometimes be a little lazy. We don’t want to put in the effort that is required to successfully complete the tasks on time.

We were working with a non-profit customer recently that truly wanted to improve their business practices and related procedures and processes. They had carefully selected a Human resource/payroll software to handle the defined requirements. They started on the project conversion with the drive to finally solve this major organizational issue. Then things started to get difficult. The regular day to day problems started get in the way. The started to lose focus on what they were trying to achieve. The result was that, a year later and they are still working on a planned 3-month project.

Change is easy, but transitioning is difficult. If we are not committed to a project’s success it will likely never be completed. We will be transitioning for a long time, which can create even more chaos in are organizations. When the going gets tough we all sometimes take the path of least resistance and not complete the difficult tasks that need to be completed and the task/project at hand will ultimately fail.

Therefore, if you are not committed, don’t bother to start a project, it will end up badly.

Individuals and organizations resist change for multiple reasons, including being comfortable with current processes, fear of the unknown, and – unfortunate but true – laziness. If your employees are resistant to change and you let them "win" by avoiding change projects, your business will fall behind its competition and you'll lose great ideas and chances for improvement.

Driving Change That Sticks: How Leaders Ensure Employees Adopt New Processes

Change is constant in modern businesses, yet organizational shifts, such as large-scale digital transformation or regulatory updates, can often be met with resistance. 

There are a few fundamental reasons that organizational change efforts often fail. One common issue is the lack of know-how for establishing leadership roles and getting everyone onboard with the change. It’s vital for everyone involved in change management to understand the roles and responsibilities they hold.

Most organizations decide to upgrade their financial system because the current one can't keep up. What derails the project after that decision almost never turns out to be the software itself. It's what happens around it: the people, the communication, the training, and the budget.

Does your company struggle with making changes stick? Many companies have learned how to lead change through an eight-step approach that continues to gain advocates almost 20 years after its inception.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2014 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

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The most important part of implementing new software is doing so without interrupting workflow. You can't avoid downtime while you make the transition, of course, but how do you avoid losing additional working hours during the process?