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_Change in the new age is likely to be continuous and fast._  Dr Mathew Donald

There is an inherent danger in staying still, but companies also face risk when implementing change. Competitive pressure to change quickly can lead to rushed rollouts, stressed staff, confused teams, and dissatisfied customers.

For this reason, its important to have a change management process that reduces risk, increases value and competitive advantage, and is clearly communicated to staff and stakeholders.

So let's have a chat about change. Especially managing change effectively. In this article Ive pulled some of the best advice from our speakers and authors, and found examples of companies who've gone through change successfully. Here we go\!

**What is effective change management?**

Former mobile phone behemoth Nokia is often used as an example to illustrate failed change management. But the new-look Nokia is, in fact, a great example of effective [change management principles. ](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/changemanagementprinciples)

In a clear piece of communication in 2020, [Nokia](https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2020/10/29/nokia-announces-first-phase-of-its-new-strategy-changes-to-operating-model-and-group-leadership-team/) set out its **new company operating model** to launch in 2021; **what** it planned to do, **why** it was doing it, **when** it would do it, **how** it planned to do it, and **what** its priorities would be.

Nokia announced four new business groups to focus on Mobile Networks, IP and Fixed Networks, Cloud and Network Services, and Nokia Technologies.

A few years on, the proof is in the pudding. According to Stock Analysis, Nokia has a market cap or net worth of $US **26.94 billion** as of April 17, 2023 $an increase of nearly 400% since 1994$.

Effective change management refers to the processes and strategies used to plan, implement, and monitor changes within an organization.

It involves a systematic approach to ensure that changes are smoothly and successfully implemented to achieve the desired outcomes, such as improved performance, increased productivity, reduced costs, or enhanced customer satisfaction.

Effective change management typically involves the following steps:

1.  **Define the change** : Identify the problem or opportunity for improvement, define the scope of the change, and set clear objectives and goals.
  2.  **Plan the change** : Develop a detailed plan for the change, including timelines, resources, and responsibilities. Identify potential risks and develop mitigation strategies.
  3.  **Communicate the change** : Communicate the change to all stakeholders, including employees, customers, and suppliers. Explain why the change is necessary, what the benefits are, and how it will be implemented.
  4.  **Implement the change** : Execute the plan, monitor progress, and make adjustments as needed. Provide training and support to employees to ensure they are prepared for the change.
  5.  **Evaluate the change** : Assess the effectiveness of the change, measure the results, and identify any lessons learned. Use this feedback to refine the change management process for future initiatives.

As we'll learn in this article, effective change management requires strong leadership, clear communication, stakeholder engagement, and a culture of continuous improvement.

By following a structured approach, organizations can successfully navigate change and achieve their strategic goals.

**5 Effective Steps in the Change Management Process**

Using the Nokia example above, we could see that Nokia **defined** the change, detailed their **plan** for change, **communicated** the change, showed how they would **implement** the change, and we assume they have an ongoing **evaluation** of the change.

Lets look at each part in more detail.

**Define the change**

In his book _Leading and Managing Change in the Age of Disruption and Artificial Intelligence_ , Dr Mathew Donald explains the critical first $and ongoing$ step of information-gathering.

_A higher degree of oversight may be required as management will be required to be abreast of big data, information and change where fast, uninformed, or ill-thought decisions may likely diminish value and organisational success._

Defining the change means asking questions like:

- What is the problem or opportunity here?

- Is there a need for change?

- What will be included or excluded in any change $i.e. the boundaries$?

- What are our objectives and goals?

- Who and what will the change impact?

- Which stakeholders need to buy-in? Who do we need to communicate this need for change with?

**Plan the change**

Nokias change of strategy included four P&L-responsible business groups with ownership for becoming one of the market leaders in their respective sector. They were each told to "demonstrate a clear route for delivering shareholder value" with return on capital as a key metric.

So, the planning phase is when you and your team develop a detailed plan for the change, including timelines, resources, and responsibilities.

You might consider questions such as:

- Who will be on the change management team $both those leading the change and those affected by the change$?

- What details need to be fleshed out around the scope of and the impact of the change?

- What are the steps needed to implement the change? Who will be responsible? How will we pay for or staff the change?

- What will be communicated, to whom, and how often?

- What training is required for employees? Who will provide this and when?

- What are the potential risks of this change?

- What concerns or resistance are we seeing or expecting from stakeholders?

**Communicate the change**

What made Nokias 2020 Stock Exchange release so effective? To my mind, Nokia covered the classic steps for story writing that I learned as a journalist **: What, Where, When, Why, Who.**

Each section of the news release clearly sets out the timing of the change, how the new strategy would be released in three phases, and why the changes were being made.

_Our industry is undergoing profound changes. Industrial automation and digitalisation are increasing customer demand for high-performance networks, with a trend towards open interfaces, virtualization, and cloud native software. This will revolutionise how we design, deploy, manage and sell our products and solutions,_ said Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO.

_As we work to renew our strategy, we will ensure we are well positioned to leverage these trends, improve our performance and position the company for long-term value creation._

When communicating to stakeholders, try to put yourself in their shoes **. Whats in it for me?** is a lens you can apply to ensure that your announcement resonates with your audience.

Make your communication clear and simple. And repeat it.

As Bren Brown says, [Clear is Kind. Unclear is Unkind.](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/BrenBrown4reasonsbeingUnclearisUnkind)

**Implement the change**

As any entrepreneur knows, the sequence of steps to creating something new can bounce around. So, while defining, planning, and communicating change must happen before implementation, prepare to make adjustments as you execute the plan.

You will need to **follow the timelines and milestones** youve established but monitor progress and prepare to use [your AQ to be adaptable](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/improveadaptability).

**Monitoring progress** can involve tracking metrics and KPIs and checking in with stakeholders. Keep them up to date on progress and any changes to the agreed plan.

**Challenges** are likely to arise, and planning for them is essential.

Finally **, celebrate successes** along the way. This can help build momentum and keep everyone engaged in the change process.

**Evaluate the change**

Youve defined, planned, communicated, and implemented the change.

The questions now are What will success look like? What needed to change? Why did it need to change? What benefits should we now be seeing from this change?

Ideally, develop measurable metrics to track progress. Use the SMART $specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound$ acronym to ensure your metrics are meaningful.

Collect and analyse data from the surveys, interviews, focus groups, or other methods youve used to evaluate results. Are the results close to what was expected?

A final step is to use the results of the evaluation to identify where you could improve and what the impacts have been of your change management process.

Image: All Blacks from Wikipedia

**4 Examples of Effective Change Management**

There are compelling examples of successful change management everywhere, and success isnt confined to the Fortune 50 companies.

**The renewal of the All Blacks**

Change management examples dont get better than the renewal story of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team in the years 2004 to 2011.

As James Kerr says in his book Legacy, prior to this renewal, the case for change was clear.

_Performance was sub-par, both on and off the field._

The management team focused on getting the culture right in the belief that the results would follow, and they did.

As management consultant Will Hogg says in Legacy:

_The paradox is that, though many organisations think they have unique problems, many change issues are centred on one thing. The ability  or inability  to convert vision into action._

_Sometimes it is through a lack of vision itself. More often through the inability to translate vision into simple, ordinary, everyday actions._

Read about the All Blacks' [15 mantras](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/summaryLegacyAllBlacksJamesKerrbook) and actions that underpinned this successful change. Or, you might like our blog on [Creating a Culture of Accountability](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/accountabilityproductivity).

**Personal habits**

Professor Katy Milkman, author of [How to Change](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/howtochange), is an expert on the subject. Her book deals with tools and techniques for managing and mastering change in our personal habits.

As she says, Unfortunately set-it-and-forget-it systems cant solve every behaviour change problem.

_Theres no default setting you can change that will ensure you exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, ignore social media at work, or study for your exams._

Katy lays out proven methods for getting started and combatting such things as procrastination, impulsivity, and laziness to implement change successfully.

**PepsiCo**

When Indra Nooyi took over as CEO and Chair of PepsiCo she made changes that needed to bring along tens of thousands of employees and bottling partners.

Many had worked for PepsiCo for decades and loved it just the way it was, she writes in her book _My Life in Full._

_I started reading everything I could about transforming large organisations, about managing change, and about the responsibility of corporations._

The result was Performance with Purpose, a company-wide addition of three imperatives:

- **Nourish** humanity and our communities by offering healthier food choices.

- **Replenish** our environment by joining a global effort to restore the health of the planet.

- **Cherish** the people in our company by offering a supportive, empowering workplace.

Indra was clear in her communication.

_If we didnt transform our portfolio to meet changing consumers, we couldnt grow; if we didnt focus on our environment, our costs would rise, and some countries would deny us license to operate; if we didnt let people bring their whole selves to work, we wouldnt get the best employees._

Performance without Purpose informed all of Indras decisions for more than a decade.

**Caterpillar**

In _CEO Excellence_ written by McKinsey partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vikram Malhotra, Caterpillar former Chair and CEO Jim Owens shares how responding to early warnings changed his companys trajectory.

_In 2007-2008, everyone on my team was convinced we needed to double to capacity of our mining equipment. But I was spending time in New York and Washington, and I could see that although the optimism at Caterpillar was running high, we were cruising toward the waterfall._

Caterpillar chose not to increase production because it was worried about the economy, correctly as it turned out. In the next year some customers took less than half the products theyd had on order.

Owens told the authors he pushed his leaders **to stress-test annually** at Caterpillar. In November of 2008 Jim Owens told each division _Okay. Get your deep recession scenario out and implement it._

**Steer Effective Change Management with a Growth Faculty Pass**

Managing change is only effective if a mindful approach is taken. It doesnt work to apply a haphazard, shell be right attitude. People will be blindsided, customers will be lost, and initiatives promised as shining solutions will be embarrassing duds.

The key factors in effective change management are a learning mindset, excellent communication, [strategic thinking](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/event.php?eventId=a1J9g0000004qCsEAI), a willingness to be adaptable, [psychological safety](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/blog/psychologicallysafeworkplaces) $safe to make mistakes$ and empathy.

These skills and more are taught in our annual Growth Faculty program of live virtual and in-person leadership development events.

If you'd like to increase your professional and personal development why not consider becoming a [Growth Faculty Pass ](https://join.thegrowthfaculty.com/growthfacultypass/)holder? Unlimited access to 40 live virtual masterclasses and Global Headliner virtual events - PLUS year-round leadership content at On Demand with videos, podcasts and book summaries. Join a community of knowledge seekers who are inspired by the best. [**See who's up next**](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/?promoCode=Blog#liveevents)[ **.**](https://growth.lightning.force.com/lightning/r/Blog_Post__c/a1d4G000004oYwKQAU/view)

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5 effective steps in the change management process

Key phases of a change management process and examples of companies undergoing change

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5 effective steps in the change management process

Key phases of a change management process and examples of companies undergoing change

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired