There’s another handy model for seeing how easy or difficult your planned change is going to be. It’s this:
D x V x F > R
Let me explain. This equation was developed by Beckhard and Harris (1977, 1987) building on work from Gleicher. It summarises the three things they state are necessary for change to occur.
- Dissatisfaction (D). There needs to be dissatisfaction with the current situation. Is it bad enough that people recognise that something has to change?
- Vision (V). People need to have a clear vision of a different future which is better than the current situation.
- First steps (F). People are able to see the practical actions they can take as first steps in the change journey. There’s no point having a clear vision without having feasible steps to get there.
The other side of the equation is Resistance (R). I’ve explained before that change is potentially threatening so it’s human and natural to resist change.
If the combined strength of the 3 factors on the left hand side of the equation is greater than the existing resistance to change, the change will happen.
The beauty of writing this as an equation is you can immediately see that all three elements are required for change to occur. If D or V or F are zero, the left hand side of the equation will be zero, and this tells you you’re unlikely to overcome the natural resistance to any change.
Being aware that these three factors are necessary for change can be very helpful. Just like Force Field Analysis, this can be used as a decision making tool. Is it worth trying to make the change if one or more of these factors is absent? It can also then highlight where you need to focus your attention. For example:
- if you’re trying to introduce a change in an organisation or group and there is little dissatisfaction with the status quo, how can you create or increase this? Can you highlight what’s wrong or how it could be better, to create this dissatisfaction?
- If people are dissatisfied with the current situation but don’t know how it could be better, do you need to focus on communicating the vision?
- And if the issue is not being aware of the actions to take, how can you work with people to create feasible action plans?
So this simple equation can be very helpful to keep in mind when you’re trying to make a change. Or if you’re struggling to make a change, it might give you some insight as to why.
References
Beckhard, R. F. and Harris, R. T. (1987) Organizational Transitions: Managing complex change, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley