What does organizational readiness mean?

It's really about shared ownership.

Yet every individual has their own experiences, expectations, and attitudes.

How can such diversity be managed?

Each of us begins with a notion based on past experience.

Such behavior explains why humans can be completely irrational.

Similar experiences can lead to different outcomes.

Which helps explain why humans can be completely unreasonable.

Based on our individual experiences and concluding attitudes, we may share opposing expectations.

This is why change can seem unmanageable.

90% of patients are back to old behaviors just two years after receiving coronary bypass surgery to save their lives (Dr. Edward Miller, Johns Hopkins University)

Two out of three criminals are re-arrested within three years (U.S. Department of Justice)

Eighty-five percent of corporate change efforts fail (Arthur D. Little)

Change can be disorienting and even frightening. Promises of support are not enough to instill confidence.

Prepare for setbacks to mitigate unrealistic expectations.

Most of us feel just like this person in the image; nervous and hoping all our preparation will catch us in the nick of time.

Stories of others' successes are a potent means of rallying people around an important change effort while bolstering confidence that support will be there when needed.