When we ask Project Managers, IT folks, or Business Leaders about their change management or implementation plan for major initiatives of all kinds, we get this response a lot: “We’ve got it under control.” As we ask more questions, and peel back the layers of the onion, we learn that what they really mean is that they have a project website, an email campaign, and a big launch event planned. In short, they are confusing a communication plan and an implementation plan, which are in reality very different.
At IMA, we use the term “implementation” to mean the successful accomplishment of five very specific and measurable metrics: on time, on budget, with all business, technical and human objectives met. Does communication play a role in achieving these metrics? You bet. But a communication plan alone is not at all the same thing as an implementation plan.
What’s the source of this confusion? First, there is a common belief that just getting a message out to an audience is enough to get buy-in and even behavior change. This belief is grounded in the assumption that if people just understand the business logic and rationale behind a change they will get on board. Unfortunately, it is never this simple, even when the change will make life easier and better for the Targets.
The second and related source of the confusion is the inherent (and misunderstood) belief that getting any change
installed is the same thing as getting it implemented. If organizations stop at the point of installation (getting a change launched) rather than at the point of achieving adoption and Return on Investment, it is easy to rely on communications alone. Installation is important, but not enough; a communication plan is important, but also not enough.
Third, there is a lack of knowledge about the
critical elements that really must be a part of any true implementation plan.
These elements need to be readily discoverable within the project plan, and include a plan for gaining alignment through a compelling business case; specific activities for building change agents across the various business units impacted by the change; plans for building Sponsors not just at the top of the organizational hierarchy, but also systematically driving that Sponsorship down through the levels of the organization to the front lines; a plan for creating change readiness (including resistance management) both on an individual and an organizational basis; a plan for creating a menu of tactical behavioral reinforcements; and the
communication plan that focuses on driving very targeted, audience-specific messages
always coupled with feedback loops that return information back up.
As internal consultants, we need to dispel this long-held notion that a communication plan is the same as a change management or implementation plan. Given the failure rate for most strategic initiatives, this belief myth is doing our organizations great harm. It is more than mere semantics. We have before us an opportunity for changing the definition of success, and altering the roadmap for getting there.
