The Easy Equation I Use To Forecast The Success Of Change Programs

One of the challenges I see senior executives face when their organisation is undergoing a change initiative is tracking how well the initiative is actually doing in real life. When the team’s trying to impress you it can be hard to get to the bottom of things.  


Traffic light and other progress reporting on your transformation initiative might look a certain way on paper and it seems like it’s ticking all the right boxes… but we’ve all experienced the truth of the matter being totally different.  Even when a report is showing a wash of green traffic lights, your initiative could end up falling short of the success you’re hoping for.

That’s why, in this episode, I share a simple yet powerful equation you can use to accurately forecast the likely effectiveness of your change program. It’s called the Change Effectiveness Equation and I break it down to show how the effectiveness of any change initiative is equal to the product of the quality of the technical solution, multiplied by the acceptance strategy of that change. Sounds simple enough, right?

In this ep I’m breaking down:

  • The story of how this equation came to be

  • The surprising finding researchers made back in the 80s about the cultural factors of an organisation and why it still stands today

  • The exact equation and how to use it (don’t worry - it’s super simple maths that *even I* can do!)


I promise once you know this equation, you’re never going to forget it. You’ll be able to use it anytime you need a yard stick on the likely success of any change initiative in your organisation.

Take a listen now!

TOPICS DISCUSSED AND WHERE TO FIND THEM:

[2:40]: One of the challenges that we see is tracking how well a change initiative is actually doing

[3:05]:  The reporting that we get from our teams doesn’t seem to be accurate and give a true representation

[4:00]: There is a simple equation that can be used to accurately track your change initiative effectiveness

[4:10]: An example is the GE - Work Out Program launched in the 80’s which is a program that is now considered to be hugely successful and the gold standard for team based innovation

[5:00]: The team did a really great job and the result was something called the Change Acceleration Process - CAP

[6:00]: CAP includes a powerful equation which is called the Change Effectiveness Equation

[7:00]: Researchers found that a great high quality technical solution didn’t guarantee success. A huge percentage of failed projects had great technical plans - but did not succeed

[7:10]: It was usually a lack of attention to the organisations cultural factors that derailed change initiatives

[8:50]: The research team developed the Change Effectiveness Equation equation from their findings: Q x A = E

[9:00]: The Effectiveness of any change initiative is equal to the product of the Quality of the technical solution, multiplied by the Acceptance strategy of that change.

[9:30]: A lot of the time we’re thinking that the solution wasn’t effective because the design wasn’t right, but that’s not the case.

[10:45]:  The multiplication part of the equation is the most important aspect of the equation

[12:30]: Most of the time, our change initiatives aren’t effective not because of the technical solution, but it’s getting the people behind it

[13:30]: Using this equation, you’re able to assess the effectiveness of any change initiative and work to discover where the issues are

[14:00]: Share this episode with two other people that you think would find the equation useful!


Website: https://www.everchange.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkatebyrne/

Kate Byrne