Bill McCarthy of Penna consultants addresses six common reasons why organizational change fails and suggests an approach that focuses on people within a “before, during and after” timeframe.


McCarthy's 6 reasons why organizational change fails are:

1. People planning comes last (Organizations plan the financials, the operations, the marketing and selling, but few plan the people dimension).
2. The role of managers is disregarded (while they are pivotal for winning hearts and minds)
3. Communication fails to win hearts and minds (too mechanical; leaders' passion and the vision for the future not communicated)
4. Individual agendas are ignored (failing to address the “what’s in it for me?” agenda)
5. Engagement isn’t measured (You’re then unclear about the support they need until it’s too late and productivity and profitability already suffer)
6. Lack of a project manager (Inadequate project management)
In order to deal with these frequently made mistakes, McCarthy suggests an organizational change approach with a focus on people within a “before, during and after” timeframe in three layers (levels) of activity: the organization as an entity, the managers; and the individuals.
The rest of McCarthy's (bill.mccarthy@e-penna.com) article can be found in Strategic HR Review (Volume 4 Issue 1 November/December 2004).