Most firms that have successfully managed a significant change in their business strategy and business model will agree that leading change was every bit as hard and demanding as was planning change. 

Blue Canyon Partners CEO George F. Brown Jr. recently did a research project that looked at the challenges of making changes in a firm’s business model. The crucial aspect associated with leading change was a people challenge, with multiple dimensions. 

He said three lessons can be learned:

The changes must be bought into by senior management.

The team charged with the implementation of the changes had better be the organization’s “A Team.”

Recognize that the implications of the changes will be far more extensive than you originally estimated. 

Brown recently completed a summary of his project results, noting that trying to figure out the directions leading to success will not go away as a challenge.  But the firms, from marketing to technology, that will celebrate success 5 or 10 years from now will be those that recognized planning change as only the first step in the journey, and put equal efforts into the task of leading change. 

(Source: Blue Canyon Partners)