The Basic 8 Framework

Change management as it really happens






Overview Page The BASIC Phases The Eight Layers The BASIC 8 Method Change Lenses Leading Change Practical Resources Reference Material

Practical Resources

As we develop practical change management resources we add them to this page. These resources can help with your change management activity.


Strebel's Change Path Diagnostic


Paul Strebel analysed how the balance between the forces for change and the forces for resistance affect which change stragegy an organisation should adopt. He created a decision tree to help people make this assessment.

The options below can take you through the decision tree. For each question, select your answer below. This will then introduce the next question for you. After three questions you will have an indication of which change strategy may suit your circumstances.

Question 1: How strong are the forces for change?

Strong

The strength of the forces for change suggest you are dealing with a reactive change agenda. This raises the next question.

Question 2: Can the forces of change be rolled back?

Yes

Since the forces for change can be contained, this raises a final question for you.

Question 3: Do the forces for change represent and opportunity for you?

Yes

Renewal

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The strong forces for change mean you must respond to them.

  • The fact they can be contained gives you a choice about whether you resist or renew.

  • Since the forces represent an opportunity for you, renewal may make more sense than resistance.

Scope of change: Change is limited to parts of the organisation.

Pace of change: Periodic change taken in steps.


Notes

  • Use the renewal approach to change when the forces for change represent and opportunity you can exploit to generate incremental change.

  • The scope of renewal type change is often limited to different parts of the organisation and rolled out according to different timeframes and schedules.

  • Renewal might have an internal and/or external focus involving a mix of internal and/or external stakeholders.

  • The efforts of the organisation are directed towards adapting itself in ways that reduce the pressure on it by weakening the effect of the change force.


No

Resistance

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The strong forces for change mean you must respond to them.

  • The fact they can be contained gives you a choice about whether you resist or renew.

  • Since the forces do not represent an opportunity for you, resistance that enables continuity for your organisation might make sense.

Scope of change: No internal change.

Pace of change: Depends on your ability to contain the forces for change.


Notes

  • Use a resistance strategy if your organisation is strongly closed to change and is opposing a threatening but containable force for change.

  • This option presumes that stabilising existing conditions will avoid any major harm that might be caused by the forces for change.

  • Any change that does occurs is internal and aims at reducing the pressure from the force for change.

  • Resistance can involve dealing with government, public agencies, trad and industry associations, and other external groups in an attempt to manage the business environment you are dealing with.


No

Given the forces for change are strong and cannot be contained, the final question for you is about when and how to act.

Question 3: Do you have a significant amount of time (ie. more than just a little) available to respond?

Yes

Revitalisation

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The strong forces for change mean you must respond to them.

  • The fact they cannot be contained or forced back makes your response dependent on how much time you have available.

  • Since you have a significant amount of time to act you may be able to drive continuous adaptation throughout your organisation to meet the challenges that the force for change is generating.

Scope of change: Ongoing change throughout the organisation.

Pace of change: Slow, continuous adaptation.


Notes

  • You can use this strategy when the organisational culture is resistant to change but organisational momentum must adapt to a strong and growing force for change.

  • The external forces for change can be used to indiredtly drive the internal change process.

  • The Revitalisation strategy is usually a slow, cintnious and all encompassing process.

  • Steps to reduce resistance to change aim to convert advocates for maintaining the status quo into change agents.
  • This strategy is only likely to work if the threats to the organisation generated by the force for change can be contained long enough to turn the organisational culture around.


No

Restructuring

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The strong forces for change mean you must respond to them.

  • The fact they cannot be contained or forced back makes your response dependent on how much time you have available.

  • Since you do not have a lot of time available a decisive, targeted change strategy has to be implemented.

Scope of change: Intense change on a few dimensions.

Pace of change: A sudden change jump.


Notes

  • A restructure strategy can be used when a strong and growing force for change is met by strong resistance to change.

  • The limited time available to act forces the organisation to adopt a sharp shock approach so it can adapt to the changing environment.

  • The scope of the change is highly focussed, typically on organisational hardware such as structures and systems. This is to facilitate control of the transition and to avoid possible disintergraion of the organisation.




Weak

Since the forces for change are weak, you are in the position to engage in proactive change. How you do this will be effected by how clearly you can recognise the drivers for change.

Question 2: Can the forces of change be easily identified?

Yes

Given that you can recognise the forces for change your strategy will be influenced on how the organisation will deal with change.

Question 3: Is the organisation closed to change (ie. the internal culture and politics will resist change)?

Yes

Corporate Realignment

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The weak forces for change gives you some flexibility on how you address them.

  • Your ability to identify the forces for change creates the opportunity to position yourself to meet them.

  • Since the organisation is closed to change you can use external forces to motivate change.

Nature of the change path: Organisational contrast with another approach.

Motivation to change: Challenge to resolve organisational tension.


Notes

  • This strategy can be used when the organisation is closed to change and must be confronted to recognise that the forces for change exist and are active.

  • This can be done by linking with another organisation or business area that is closer to the force for change and is already adressing it.

  • Show the constrasting approaches between organisations to create a tension that the organisation must resolve.


No

Cascading Implementation

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The weak forces for change gives you some flexibility on how you address them.

  • Your ability to identify the forces for change creates the opportunity to position yourself to meet them.

  • Since the organisation is open to change you are able to mobilise people to start adapting to the forces for change.

Nature of the change path: Progressive adaptation to change forces.

Motivation to change: Participative commitment.


Notes

  • Since the organisation is open to change you can ask people to begin implementing change.

  • Encourage key leaders to become change agents to mibilise the forces for change in their business areas.

  • Use sequential change to progressively adapt to change forces and cascade implementation from the top down through the organisation.


No

Since the forces for change are not obvious, your strategy will depend on how the organisation can discover them and act on them.

Question 3: Is the organisation closed to change (ie. the internal culture and politics will resist change)?

Yes

Focused Reengineering

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The weak forces for change gives you some flexibility on how you address them.

  • The fact that it is difficult to identify the forces for change suggests an exploratory approach is needed.

  • Since the organisation is closed to change your strategy will require leading people to discover and act on forces for change.

Nature of the change path: Benchmarking and explicit, focused comparisons.

Motivation to change: The threat that is implicit in the performance of the benchmark.


Notes

  • You can implement strategies to identify the forces for change.

  • Benchmark with customers, suppliers, competitors or leaders in other industries with similar processes.

  • Change the organisational mindset to enable redesign of processes and systems based on the benchmarking or some other analysis.

  • Improve efficiency and effectiveness to eliminate wasted time and resources, and focus on customer needs.

  • The reengineering systems and processes should clarify the change priorities.


No

Bottom-up Experimentation

Basis for choosing this strategy

  • The weak forces for change gives you some flexibility on how you address them.

  • The fact that it is difficult to identify the forces for change suggests an exploratory approach is needed.

  • The organisation's openness to change enables you to mobilise people to look for forces for change and opportunities for change.

Nature of the change path: Learning by example from successful internal change.

Motivation to change: Competition to match the example.


Notes

  • You can stimulate the organisation to identify the force for change by encouraging experimentation.

  • Find examples of successful internal change that illustrates the impact of the forces for change.

  • Use examples of successful change to drive a cultural shift that changes organisational attitudes from the bottom up.







The text of Strebel's article is referenced in the Reference Page. The article can be procured from the California Management Review

Visual Aids for Introducing BASIC-8 Concepts


It can be hard for people to understand the dynamics of change. These slides can help you introduce people to the need for using the BASIC 8 approach.

Access the slides here.

Agenda Construction and Tracking Sheet Template


Part of the BASIC 8 method is the agenda construction process. This process goes through which elements are relevant to your change process. These elements relate to the five phases and the eight PRIME-CAB layers of action. There are over 150 items.

You will not typically need to address all of these items. Which items are important will depend on the attributes of your change. The Agenda Construction and Tracking Sheet can help you simplify how you plan and track actions during the change process. You can select the BASIC 8 elements most relevant to your change process. You can then use the sheet to plan and track progress in these key performance areas.

There is also a guideline to help you use the sheet.

Access the Guideline here.

Access the Agenda Template here.

Sample Change Communication Plan Template


Communication is a key mechanism for managing change. It involves many stakeholders and depends on the governance structure leading the change.

This template can be modified to suit your change. It is designed to balance planning needs with the fact that the content and schedule of a change program is highly dependent on a range of variables. With this template you can lay out the predictable elements and also your processes for manaing the dynamic and emerging elements of change communication.

Access the sample plan template here.

Sample Change Communication Intranet Site


Effective communication is essential if a change process is going to succeed. This includes a clear, formal place for communication and up to date information. One of the simplest ways to do this to have an intranet site dedicated to the change.

The sample change communication intranet site that you can assess below is an example of a basic site with the core communication requirements. It is based on the fictitious ACME corporation. Other elements can be added to the site, depending on the nature of your change. For example, if your change involves new policies and procedures, you can add a consultation page with drafts and another page with the final documents as they are signed off. You could also add a resources page to support any training that people do during the change process.

Of course, the intranet site is only a support resource that provides a central location for people to access information. The leadership, consultative and reference group processes are still very important.

There are other options for communication sites. Some of my clients have used SharePoint for documents sharing as well as the core information illustrated on this site. Others use social media options, such as Yammer or LinkedIn groups, to encourage dialogue across different geographical locations.

Access the sample site here.

Sample Agenda for a Reference Group Meeting


Reference groups are an important resource for coordination, planning, communication and issues resolution during a change process. This sample agenda illustrates the content of such a meeting.

There a notes attached to the agenda to help you understand the role of each part. A full understanding of the BASIC 8 and specialist change dynamics will also help you get the best out of the reference group meetings.

Access the sample agenda here.

Sample Change Pulse Survey


Pulse surveys are a valuable tool for consistently monitoring the way the change is being experienced.

The keys to the pulse survey are:
  • It must be short so it can be done in two minutes.
  • It is done regularly, either weekly or fortnightly during the change.
  • It focuses on key change elements critical to the success of the change.
  • It asks people questions about their actual experience.
The sample survey below also uses the technique of asking people about their unit rather than themselves. This method gives you information about what is happening for a large number of people, even if only a few respond. In the right context with the right questions, this method has shown greater predictive reliability than questions that only inquire about the individual respondent.

Access the sample pulse survey here.