Chapter 9:
Action Planning and Implementation
Chapter Overview
Change leaders have a “do it” attitude. Without action, nothing happens
Action planning involves planning the work and working the plan. “Right” decisions = approximately right, as you gain feedback and learn as you go
Action planning sorts out who does what, when, and how and tracks progress to promote learning and adaptation
Tools to help you manage the process are discussed
Successful change agents effectively engage others in the journey, develop detailed communication plans and the transition
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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The Change Path Model
Implementation planning that engages and empowers others
Action planning tools
Communications planning
Managing the transition and after-action review
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Awakening
Chapter 4
Acceleration
Chapter 9
Institutionalization
Chapter 10
Mobilization
Chapters 5 through 8
3 Approaches to Decision Making and Action Taking
Thinking First
when the issue is clear and the context structured
Seeing First
when many elements have to be combined into creative solutions, commitment is key and communication across boundaries is essential. People need to see the whole before becoming committed.
Doing First
when situation is novel and confusing, complicated specifications would get in the way and a few simple rules can help people move forward
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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3 Generic Change Strategies
Change Type | Characteristic | Implementation | Pitfalls |
Programmatic Change | Missions, plans, objectives | Training, timelines, steering committees | Lack of focus on behavior, one solution for all, inflexible solutions |
Discontinuous Change | Initiated from top, clear break, reorientation | Decrees, structural change, concurrent implementation | Political coalitions derail change, weak controls, stress from the loss of people |
Emergent Change | Ambiguous, incremental and challenging | Use of metaphors, experimentation, and risk taking | Confusion over direction, uncertainty, and possible slow results |
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
Working Your Plan
Mobilize commitment to change through joint diagnosis of business problems
Develop a shared vision of how to organize and manage for competitiveness
Foster consensus for the new vision, competence to enact it, and cohesion to move it along
Spread revitalization to all departments without pushing it from the top
Institutionalize revitalization through formal policies, systems, and structures
Monitor and adjust strategies in response to problems in the revitalization process
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Working Your Plan
Think of a change situation you are familiar with. Return to Table 9.1 and consider whether it is a:
Programmatic change
Discontinuous change
Emergent change
How well was it handled? Was the appropriate approach or should it have been handled differently?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Steps to Effective Change—Beer et al.’s Six Steps
Mobilize commitment through joint diagnosis
Develop a shared vision
Foster consensus for the new vision, competence to enact it, and cohesion to move it along
Spread revitalization to all departments without pushing it from the top
Institutionalize revitalization through formal policies, systems, and structures
Monitor and adjust strategies as you go
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Jick’s Ten Commandments
Analyze the organization and its need for change
Create a vision and a common direction
Separate from the past
Create a sense of urgency
Support a strong leader role
Line up political sponsorship
Craft an implementation plan
Develop enabling structures
Communicate, involve people, and be honest
Reinforce and institutionalize change
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Kotter’s Eight-Stage Process
Establish a sense of urgency
Create a guiding coalition
Develop a vision and strategy
Empower broad-based action
Communicate the change vision
Generate short-term wins
Consolidate gains and produce more change
Anchor new approaches in the culture
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Lueck’s Seven Steps for Change
Identify the leadership
Focus on results, not activities
Start change at the periphery, then let it spread to other units, pushing it from the top
Institutionalize success through formal policies, systems, and structures
Monitor and adjust strategies in response to problems in the change process
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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“No Plan Survives First Contact”
While it is critical to plan and anticipate, planning is a means not an end.
Don’t ignore vital emerging information just because it does not fit with carefully conceived plans.
Contingencies and alternative ways of approaching change are important contributors to enhanced adaptive capacity.
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Action Planning Tools
To Do Lists—A checklist of things to do
Responsibility Charting—Who will do what, when, where, why, and how
Contingency Planning—Consideration of what should be done when things do not work as planned on critical issues. Tools to aid with this include decision tree analyses and scenario analyses
Flow Charting
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Action Planning Tools (cont.)
Design Thinking
Surveys and Survey Feedback
Project Planning and Critical Path Methods for Scheduling
Tools that assess outcomes and stakeholders (discussed in Ch. 6), including:
Commitment Charts
The Adoption Continuum (AIDA)
Cultural Mapping
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Action Planning Tools (cont.)
Leverage Analysis
Training and Development Tools
Diverse Change Approaches
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Responsibility Charting
Decisions or Actions to be Taken | Responsibilities | |||
Susan | Ted | Sonja | Relevant Dates | |
Action 1 | R | A | I | For meeting on Jan 14 |
Action 2 | R | I | May 24 | |
Action 3 | S | A | A | Draft Plan by Feb 17 Action by July 22 |
Etc... | ||||
Coding: R = Responsibility (not necessarily authority) A = Approval (right to veto) S = Support (put resources toward) I = Inform (to be consulted before action) |
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Project Planning
Organizing task to allow for parallel processes to occur has been shown to save time.
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Level of Commitment to Action
Opposed to the Change
Neutral to the Change
Let It Happen (weak support)
Help It Happen
Make It Happen
LOW
HIGH
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Stage of Adoption
Awareness
Becoming altered to the existence of something new, such as a product, service, or procedure
Interest
A growing inquisitiveness about the nature and benefits of the new idea
Desire/Appraisal
Studying strengths and weaknesses of new idea and its application to their area, followed by small-scale testing
Action/Adoption
Incorporating the new idea as part of the resources the adopter brings to their job
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Crossing the Adoption Chasm
Innovators
Early Adopters
Early Majority
Late Majority
Laggards
The Chasm or Tipping Point of Support That Needs to be Crossed
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Commitment Chart
Key Players | Level of Commitment | Level of Understanding (high, med, low) | ||||
Opposed Strongly to Weakly | Neutral | Let It Happen | Help It Happen | Make It Happen | ||
Person1 | X | O | Med | |||
Person 2 | X | O | High | |||
Person 3 | X | | O | Low | ||
Etc... |
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Mapping People on the Adoption Curve
Key Players | ||||
Aware | Interested | Desire for Action | Moving to Action or Adopting the Change | |
Person1 | X | O | ||
Person 2 | X | |||
Person 3 | X | | O | |
Etc... |
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Action Planning Checklist
Is the action plan consistent with the analysis, vision, and objectives?
Is your action plan realistic, given your influence, and the resources likely to be available to you?
Are you and your team committed, and do have the competence and credibility to implement the action steps? If not, how will you address this?
Is the plan time-sequenced in logical order?
Is it clear who will do what, when, where, and how?
What are the milestones and the probability of success at each step? Have you anticipated secondary consequences of your actions?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Action Planning Checklist (cont.)
Have you anticipated possible secondary consequences and lagging impacts your plans may have?
Have you developed contingencies for risk areas and for how to proceed if things go better or differently than anticipated?
Who does your plan rely on? Are they “on-side”? If not, what will it take to bring them “on-side”?
Does your action plan take into account the concerns of stakeholders and possible coalitions they might form?
Who (and what) could seriously obstruct the change? How will you manage them?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Communication Needs for Different Phases in the Change Process
Pre-Approval Phase | Developing the Need for Change Phase | Mid Stream Change Phase | Confirming the Change Phase |
Communication plans to sell top management | Communication plans to explain the need for change, provide a rationale, reassure employees, and clarify the steps in the change process. | Communication plans to inform people of progress and to obtain feedback on attitudes and issues, to challenge any misconceptions, and to clarify new organizational roles, structures, and systems. | Communication plans to inform employees of the success, to celebrate the change, and to prepare the organization for the next change. |
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Communicating for Change
Message and media redundancy are key for message retention. Carefully consider the impact and use of social media and how others affected may use it
Face-to-face communication is most effective
Line authority is effective in communications
The immediate supervisor is key
Opinion leaders need to be identified and used
Employees pick up and retain personally relevant information more easily than other types of information
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Influence Strategies for Change
Education and communication
Participation and involvement
Facilitation and support
Negotiation and agreement
Manipulation and co-option
Explicit and implicit coercion
Systemic adjustment
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Toolkit Exercise 9.2—Action Plans for Influencing Reactions to Change
Which of the following strategies have you seen used to overcome resistance to action plans?
Education and communication?
Participation and involvement?
Facilitation and support?
Negotiation and agreement?
Manipulation and co-optation?
Explicit and implicit coercion?
Systemic adjustments?
What were the consequences of the methods?
Which of these methods are you most comfortable with using? Which do you have the skills to use?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Toolkit Exercise 9.3 (cont.) Additional Lenses on Influence Tactics
Inspirational appeals
Consultation: seeking the participation of others
Relying on the informal system: existing norms and relationships
Personal appeals: friendship, loyalty
Ingratiation: praise, flattery, friendliness
Rational persuasion: using data
Exchange or reciprocity
Coalition building
Using rules or legitimating tactics
Appeals to higher authorities
- Which of the above have you used? How successful were they?
- How comfortable are you with each method?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Push and Pull Tactics
Push Tactics
Use of facts, logic, and/or pressure (e.g., use of guilt and fear) to push people toward the change
Pull Tactics
Inspirational appeals and other influence tactics designed to attract and pull people toward the change
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Implementation Tactics and Success
Tactic | Percentage Use | Initial Adoption Rate | Ultimate Adoption Rate | Time to Adopt (months) |
Intervention | 16% | 100% | 82% | 11.2 |
Participation | 20 | 81 | 71 | 19.0 |
Persuasion | 35 | 65 | 49 | 20.0 |
Edict | 29 | 51 | 35 | 21.5 |
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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A Checklist for Change: Transition Management
Transition Management: managing the implementation of the change project
How will the organization continue to operate as it shifts from one state to the next?
Who will answer questions about the proposed change? What decision power will they have?
Do the people in charge of the transition have the appropriate authority to make decisions necessary to ease the change?
Have we developed ways to reduce the anxiety created by the change and increase the positive excitement over it?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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A Checklist for Change: Transition Management (cont.)
Have we worked on developing a problem-solving climate around the change process?
Have we thought through the need to communicate the change? Who needs to be seen individually? Which groups need to be seen together? What formal announcement should be made?
Have the people handling the transition thought about how they will capture the learning from the change process and share it?
Have we thought about how we will measure and celebrate progress and how we will bring about closure to the project and capture the learning so it is not lost (after-action review)?
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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What Makes for a Good Action Plan?
It can be done!
Organized as a timed sequence of conditional moves
Responsibility charts: who does what, when, why, how?
Measures and Outcomes are specified
The plan is consistent with analysis and objectives
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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What Makes for a Good Action Plan? (cont.)
Resources are available: money and people
Real “buy in” is there—involvement and public commitment, coalitions are considered
Early positives exist to help build momentum
Most importantly, you have the Vision and Goals needed to guide you in the right direction
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Summary
“Doing it” demands a good plan and a committed team who will work that plan
Several strategies for approaching change and planning the work are discussed. Change agents, like good coaches, adjust as they go
Action planning tools are discussed
Effective action planning and implementation requires careful attention to communication and transition management
Deszca, Ingols & Cawsey, Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, 4th ed.. © 2020 SAGE Pub.
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Schilling & Hill, 1998
Cycle
Time
Opportunity
Identification
Opportunity
Identification
Concept
Development
Concept
Development
Product Design
Product Design
Process Design
Process Design
Commercial
Production
Commercial
Production
Example 1
Example 2
Cycle Time
Opportunity
Identification
Opportunity
Identification
Concept
Development
Concept
Development
Product Design
Product Design
Process Design
Process Design
Commercial Production
Commercial Production
Example 1
Example 2

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