Change Management’s best kept secret: Change Story

You’ve got a new project or initiative to lead. One of many.

You are a project manager, executive sponsor or a sponsor’s delegate. In any case, responsible for the success of this new shiny initiative that is strategically important.

You are driven to succeed and want this project to be seen by the organization as worthwhile.

But how to attract the attention of your co-workers when everyone is overwhelmed with the amount of corporate information flowing daily in people’s inboxes?

Maybe it does not sound as such, but change management is in big part about grabbing people’s attention, very similar to marketing. You want your organization to be excited about the final result (a new product, service, organizational structure, whatever). So what could be the way to achieve that reaction in the simplest way possible?

Enter the project’s change story concept.

A change story is a story of your initiative’s final destination, described in enough detail that the audience can almost see it, feel it and want it. Whatever it is – a product, service or result – you want to spark excitement and motivation to be a part of it, to support it.

Another goal of the change story-not less important- is that by visualizing the change result, you initiate the organization’s next question, “What is in it for me?” or better, “what do I need to do to be ready for the final destination?” which is what you ultimately want- start of organizational discussions on how to get ready.

More on the change story coming soon.