Every kind of business is now competing in a world in which constant flux is the norm.  Change cannot follow our once-orderly models of “plan, implement, and then sustain.”  People who studied organizations in the 1960s and 1970s were trained in a three-step model posited by Kurt Lewin.

Kurt Lewin developed a three-step model that he called “Force Field Analysis” to help people and companies deal with change.  It looks at forces that are either driving movement toward a goal (helping forces) or blocking movement toward a goal (hindering forces).  In the first step, the work was to “unfreeze” the organization from its current state.  Then, theoretically at least, you moved through the “transition” phase where the real change occurred.  Finally, you reached the future or “refreeze” stage where the change was solidified.  It was difficult, but if leaders could move people in the organization through it, everyone could get back to the “real work.”

What is useful about this framework is that it gives rise to thinking about a staged approach to changing things.  Planning before you do something is usually sound practice.

What is not useful about this framework is that it does not allow for change efforts that begin when you already in the midst of a change (i.e., already “unfrozen”), nor does it help a business faced with the prospect of having to stay in flux for extended periods of time (i.e., staying “unfrozen”).

In other words, the beginning and ending point of the unfreeze-change-refreeze model is stability - which, for some people and some organizations, is a real luxury.

Now, change is the real work.  Lewin’s model appears, in perfect hindsight, to be pretty unrealistic.  Today, instead of the unfreeze-transition-refreeze sequence, the best we have is continual “whitewater” - that is, continual change.

A more useful way to think about the change process is as a problem to be solved.  Managing change is seen as a matter of moving from one condition to another, specifically, from having a problem to solving the problem.

You must first figure out what the problem really is. Goals can then be set and achieved. Ends and means are discussed and related to one another.  Careful planning is accompanied by efforts to obtain buy-in, support and commitment.  The net effect is movement from one set of circumstances to another in a planned, orderly fashion.  This is the planned change model.

Planned Change models all have these elements in common:

  1. Exploration Phase Activities : becoming aware for the need for change, searching for outside assistance, establishing consultant contracts if needed
  2. Planning Phase Activities : collecting information to ensure correct ‘diagnosis’ of needs; establish change goals and actions to achieve goals; get ‘decision makers’ support
  3. Action Phase Activities : implementation of changes - getting ‘buy in’ from everyone affected & evaluation of implementation activities
  4. Integration Phase Activities : consolidating and stabilizing changes so they become part of the organization’s normal activities (reinforcing behaviors, decreasing reliance on change consultants)

The main issue confronting those facing change is that very often it is not planned.  It is the result of factors that may be beyond your control, or unforeseen when you were creating your plans.  This requires a fair amount of flexibility in responding to events.  The more you know about how people react when faced with change, the more successful you will be in making change work for you.

This is the second in an ongoing series of articles on Change and Transition Management.  The next segment deals with individual responses to change.

It is part of the overall series on Strategic Planning developed to help both Internet Marketers and off-line businesses to succeed in any economy, and in any market.