Tag Archives: Change Planning Toolkit

Book Giveaway – Charting Change

November 10, 2023 from 8:30-11:30 AM in Issaquah, WA

Charting Change for an Outstanding 2023

Wow! Crazy news!

In honor of Veterans Day I will be giving away up to 20 copies of my bestselling book Charting Change at the East Lake Sammamish Starbucks tomorrow, November 10, 2023 from 8:30am-11:30am until the last copy in the box is gone. That’s about $1,000 worth of books.

Usually people give Veteran’s like me a thank you offer. But, I thought I would flip it around to help spread the benefits of the human-centered change methodology even farther and wider for the benefit of non-profit, for-profit and governmental organizations looking to plan and execute transformations and change initiatives.

Here is a map of the Starbucks location where I will be giving away the books:

I created the Human-Centered Change methodology to help organizations get everyone literally all on the same page for change. The 70+ visual, collaborative tools are introduced in my book Charting Change, including the powerful Change Planning Canvas™. The toolkit has been created to help organizations:

  • Beat the 70% failure rate for change programs
  • Quickly visualize, plan and execute change efforts
  • Deliver projects and change efforts on time
  • Accelerate implementation and adoption
  • Get valuable tools for a low investment

REMINDER: I will be at this Starbucks from 8:30am-11:30am or until the twenty (20) books are gone ($49.99 retail value each).

SPECIAL BONUS: Whether you stop by to grab a copy of the book, or already have one, anyone who stops by and leaves their business card or email address will be entered into a drawing to win one of two (2) LIFETIME Change Planning Toolkit™ licenses (a $36,999 value with a discounted retail price of $999.99/each).

Additional reminder: Everyone can download ten free tools from the Human-Centered Change methodology by going to its page on this site via the link in this sentence, and book buyers can get 26 of the 70+ tools from the Change Planning Toolkit (including the Change Planning Canvas™) by contacting me with proof of purchase. Annual toolkit licenses are available for as little as $99.99/year (there are site/city/state/country licenses as well).

Happy Veterans Day!

Did You Know That I’m a Business Ninja?

Neither did I!

At least until I appeared recently on the Business Ninja podcast hosted by WriteForMe, a modern content marketing company that helps their clients achieve their growth goals by telling their story across the Internet and social media.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew Lippman for the podcast, which is available as a traditional audio podcast (on this link or via your favorite podcast provider) or as a YouTube video which I’ve embedded right here:

In this conversation we explore how the Human-Centered Change methodology and the Change Planning Toolkit came to be, and how the collection of more than seventy (70+) tools was designed to be used visually, collaboratively either in person using posters and sticky notes, or virtually using digital sticky notes in a tool like Miro, Mural, LucidSpark, or Microsoft Whiteboard.

Did You Know That I'm a Business Ninja?Don’t plan a change effort by starting with a blank Project Charter but instead get everyone literally all the same page for change. Using the Change Planning Toolkit employs more modern ways of working instead of legacy methods and by design will lead to increased buy-in, alignment and momentum towards your change or transformation goals.

We also explore the topic of change resistance and how to overcome it, and some of the tools that are part of the human-centered change methodology that help you in this quest. And, my conversation with Andrew also touches on the next set of tools that I’ll be introducing soon, which come together to form the FutureHacking™ methodology.

Finally, the podcast also dives into my origin story, just in case you’re curious who this Braden Kelley guy is and the journey that has brought me to you!

I hope you’ll check out the podcast and as always, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to add them as a comment below and I’ll do my best to help you with your challenge!

Once again here are the links:

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Four Things You Need to Succeed in The Good Place

Four Things You Need to Succeed in The Good Place

GUEST POST from Robyn Bolton

You have, no doubt, seen the design squiggle. The ubiquitous scribble is all loopy and knotty in the beginning until it finally sorts itself into a straight line by the end.

It illustrates the design process – “the journey of researching, uncovering insights, generating creative concepts, iteration of prototypes and eventually concluding in one single designed solution” – and its elegant simplicity has led it to be adopted by all sorts of other disciplines, including innovation.

But when I showed it to a client, her immediate response was, “It’s Jeremy Bearimy!”*

Wha????

And that is how I discovered The Good Place, a sitcom about four humans who die, go to The Good Place, and struggle to learn what it means to be good.

The show, created by Michael Schur of The Office and Parks and Recreation fame, is a brilliant treatise on ethics and moral philosophy. It also contains valuable wisdom about what innovators need to succeed.

Questions

With all due respect, “It’s the way it’s always been done” is an excuse that’s been used for hundreds of years to justify racism, misogyny…

Tahani Al-Jamil

This quote was a gut punch from the show’s fourth and final season. As innovators, we often hear people ask why change is needed. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” they proclaim.

But sometimes it is broke, and we don’t know it. At the very least, it can always be better.

So, while “it’s the way it’s always been done” at your company probably (hopefully) doesn’t include racism, misogyny, sexism, and other genuinely horrible things, framing the status quo as an enabler of those horrors is a harsh wake-up call to the dangers of an unquestioning commitment to continuing to do things the way they’ve always been done.

Decisions (not just Ideas)

If you’re always frozen in fear and taking too long to figure out what to do, you’ll miss your opportunity, and maybe get sucked into the propeller of a swamp boat.

Jason Mendoza

Even though Jason Mendoza is the resident idiot of The Good Place, he occasionally (and very accidentally) has moments of profound insight. This one to a situation that innovators are all too familiar with – analysis paralysis.

How often do requests for more data, more (or more relevant) benchmarks, or input from more people slow down decisions and progress? These requests are rarely rooted in doubt about the data, benchmarks, or information you presented. They are rooted in fear – the fear of making the wrong decision, being blamed or shamed, and losing a reputation or even a job.

But worse than being wrong, blamed, shamed, or unemployed is missing an opportunity to radically improve your business, team, or even the world. It’s the business equivalent of getting sucked into the propeller of a swamp boat.

Actions (not just decisions)

In football, trying to run out the clock and hoping for the best never works. It’s called “prevent defense.” You don’t take any chances and just try and hold on to your lead. But prevent defense just PREVENTS you from winning! It’s always better to try something.

Jason Mendoza

Jason does it again, this time invoking a lesson learned from his beloved Jacksonville Jaguars.

Few companies publicly admit to adopting a prevent defense, even though most companies engage in it. They play prevent defense when they don’t invest in innovation, focus exclusively on maintaining or incrementally improving what they currently do, or confine their innovation efforts to events like hackathons and shark tanks.

Incremental improvements and innovation theater keep you competitive. But they won’t get you ahead of the competition or make you a leader in your industry. In fact, they prevent it by making you feel good and safe when you’re really just running out the clock.

Perseverance

Come on, you know how this works. You fail and then you try something else. And you fail again and again, and you fail a thousand times, and you keep trying because maybe the 1,001st idea might work. Now, I’m gonna and try to find our 1,001st idea.

Michael

It’s hard to explain this quote without sharing massive spoilers, so let’s just say that The Good Place is an experiment that fails. A lot.

But it’s also an experiment that generates profound learning and universe-altering changes, things that would not have been possible without the failures.

Yes, smart innovators know when to kill a project. They also know when to try one more time. Wise innovators know the difference.

One final bit of wisdom

Innovation is hard. You will run into more resistance than expected, and things will rarely work out as planned. As long as you keep trying and learning, you won’t fail.

To paraphrase Jason Mendoza (again), you’re not a failed innovator, you’re pre-successful.

*For those of you who are, like I was, unfamiliar with Jeremy Bearimy, here’s a clip explaining it (WARNING: SPOILERS)

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TODAY ONLY – Change Planning Toolkit – Fourth of July Special

TODAY ONLY - Change Planning Toolkit - Fourth of July SpecialHappy Fourth of July!

For all of my American friends in celebration of Independence Day, I have a special offer for you.

If you live in the United States of America, TODAY ONLY, if you purchase a copy of:

The Change Planning Toolkit from the Human-Centered Change methodology …

You can get one of the two following deals if you are one of the first ten (10) people to purchase the deal and ENTER A UNITED STATES MAILING ADDRESS:

OPTION ONE: Free copy of Charting Change (a $49.99 value) when you buy a $99.99 one-year Change Planning Toolkit license (a $1,200 value)

OPTION TWO: Save 40% and get a free copy of Charting Change (a $49.99 value) when you buy a $999.99 Change Planning Toolkit lifetime license (a $120,000 value) and use coupon code lifetime4th

Thank you to all of our servicemen and servicewomen for protecting our freedom, and to everyone else please keep your fingers and toes safe with any celebration fireworks, and …

Keep innovating!

New Capability Mapping Tools for Business Architects

Charting Change - Order NowDespite already investing more than one million dollars in the new intellectual property included in the Change Planning Toolkit™, I will continue to take your feedback and invest in creating new tools that make the toolkit even more valuable for everyone.

Today I’m excited to announce the Change Planning Toolkit™ v11 which includes several new tools for:

  • Helping innovation leaders, business architects and transformation planners create current and future business capability maps

The Change Planning Canvas™ and the more than 70 tools in the toolkit will help make your change planning efforts more visual and collaborative, and enable you to get everyone literally all on the same page for change. The toolkit has been created to help organizations:

  1. Beat the 70% failure rate for change programs
  2. Quickly visualize, plan and execute change efforts
  3. Deliver projects and change efforts on time
  4. Accelerate implementation and adoption
  5. Get valuable tools for a low investment

The tools easily integrate with other change methodologies like ProSci’s ADKAR, the Association of Change Management Professionals’ (ACMP) Standard, and the PMBOK used by Project Management Professionals (PMP).

Get your Change Planning Toolkit™ licenses now at a special price.

If you purchased a Change Planning Toolkit™ license over a year ago, you will want to renew your license so you can:

  • Download the latest version
  • Help shape future updates to the toolkit by contacting us to request new tools
  • Get access to any further updates over the next year

—————————————————————————————-
IMPORTANT: If you already purchased the book and are looking to access the supporting material, please contact me with your proof of purchase and I’ll send you the file.
—————————————————————————————-

Learning how to use the Change Planning Toolkit™ will create great opportunities for:

  1. Organizations to build a continuous change capability
  2. Consulting companies to increase revenue while achieving better client outcomes
  3. Education companies to build new organizational change course offerings

So, what are you waiting for?

Don’t endure even one more change or project failure.

Get the Change Planning Toolkit™ v11 today!

Not sure what business architecture is or what a business capability map looks like?

Here is a hypothetical business architecture example of a business capability map from the Change Planning Toolkit™ v11 that these new tools will help you organize as part of your innovation, change or transformation efforts for current state and future state capability mappings:

Business Architecture example of a business capability map from Braden Kelley


Accelerate your change and transformation success

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What is the best way to create successful change? – EPISODE FOUR – Ask the Consultant

Live from the Innovation Studio comes EPISODE FOUR of a new ‘Ask the Consultant’ series of short form videos. EPISODE FOUR tackles a question I’m asked so frequently that I wrote a book to answer it:

“What is the best way to create successful change?”

Hint: It starts with getting a copy of Charting Change because I introduce in the book several key frameworks that lay the groundwork for successful change that are built upon in the Change Planning Toolkit™.

The pace of change is accelerating and organizations need to become more agile and more capable of continuous change. This presents a huge challenge for most organizations.

Together in this episode we’ll explore some of the core building blocks to creating successful change in your organization, and a discuss what else is in Charting Change and the Change Planning Toolkit™, and how this particular book can make a great course book for change management courses at universities, executive education, and corporate training programs.

Many of the tools in the optional Change Planning Toolkit™ will look familiar to change management professionals because they have been informed by the ACMP’s Standard for Change Management and the PMI’s PMBOK.

Five Keys to Successful Change 550

“Does the change you’re proposing inspire fear or curiosity? Fear steals energy from change; curiosity fuels it.”— Braden Kelley

Grab your copy of Charting Change on Amazon while they last!

What question should I tackle in the next video episode of “Ask the Consultant” live from my innovation studio?

Contact me with your question

}} Click here to watch the video {{

Below are the previous episodes of ‘Ask the Consultant’:

  1. EPISODE ONE – What is innovation?
  2. EPISODE TWO – How do I create continuous innovation in my organization?
  3. EPISODE THREE – What is digital transformation?
  4. All other episodes of Ask the Consultant


Accelerate your change and transformation success

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New Tool for Leveraging the Eight Change Mindsets

Charting Change - Order NowDespite already investing more than one million dollars in the new intellectual property included in the Change Planning Toolkit™, I will continue to take your feedback and invest in creating new tools that make the toolkit even more valuable for everyone.

Today I’m excited to announce the Change Planning Toolkit™ v10 which includes a new tool for:

  • Leveraging the Eight Change Mindsets in your Communications Strategy Planning (including messaging, symbols, and artifacts)

The Change Planning Canvas™ and the more than 60 tools in the toolkit will help make your change planning efforts more visual and collaborative, and enable you to get everyone literally all on the same page for change. The toolkit has been created to help organizations:

  1. Beat the 70% failure rate for change programs
  2. Quickly visualize, plan and execute change efforts
  3. Deliver projects and change efforts on time
  4. Accelerate implementation and adoption
  5. Get valuable tools for a low investment

The tools easily integrate with other change methodologies like ProSci’s ADKAR, the Association of Change Management Professionals’ (ACMP) Standard, and the PMBOK used by Project Management Professionals (PMP).

Get your Change Planning Toolkit™ licenses now at a special price.

If you purchased a Change Planning Toolkit™ license over a year ago, you will want to renew your license so you can:

  • Download the latest version
  • Help shape future updates to the toolkit by contacting us to request new tools
  • Get access to any further updates over the next year

—————————————————————————————-
IMPORTANT: If you already purchased the book and are looking to access the supporting material, please contact me with your proof of purchase and I’ll send you the file.
—————————————————————————————-

Learning how to use the Change Planning Toolkit™ will create great opportunities for:

  1. Organizations to build a continuous change capability
  2. Consulting companies to increase revenue while achieving better client outcomes
  3. Education companies to build new organizational change course offerings

So, what are you waiting for?

Don’t endure even one more change or project failure.

Get the Change Planning Toolkit™ v10 today!

Don’t remember what the Eight Change Mindsets are?

Check them out below and then get the Change Planning Toolkit™ to take advantage of them in your communications planning!

Eight Change Mindsets to Harness for Success

Get the PDF version of the Eight Change Mindsets framework:

Eight Change Mindsets to Harness for Success PDF

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Accelerating Complexity vs. Accelerating Change

Accelerating Complexity vs. Accelerating Change

Does the quickening pace of change or the accelerating pace of complexity pose a greater threat for humans and organizations?

Change can be incredibly disruptive to both humans and organizations.

So much so that I decided to create a more modern, visual, collaborative and effective set of methods and tools to help organizations beat the 70% change failure rate and better keep pace with the accelerating pace of change – the Change Planning Toolkit™ – introduced in my latest book Charting Change.

In the book I highlight that the pace of change is accelerating, and use the increasing rate of change in the S&P 500’s membership as a proof point:

Innosight Average Company Lifespan

Another proof point is the fact that all of our high technology has been developed in roughly the last 100 years.

There can be no doubt that the pace of change and disruption is quickening.

But how much of the accelerating disruption that we see can be attributed to what I see as an increasing pace of complexity?

If anyone doubts that we live in a time of accelerating complexity, I encourage you to check out the book The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites, or this TED talk given by Thomas:

I find this video quite frightening because it highlights how fragile our high-technology society is, and how much we need each other.

If a single person can’t make the simplest of electrical appliances by themselves, even over the course of a year, then imagine the complexity that organizations must manage to make even more complicated products.

Imagine the challenge of making changes to our organizations after we’ve optimized things to successfully manage this complexity.

If both complexity and change are accelerating, how can we cope?

Here are four key ways to better manage complexity and change:

  1. Choose carefully which complexity to inflict upon the organization
  2. Learn how to architect the organization for continuous change
  3. Continuously evaluate your organization’s trade-offs between flexibility and fixedness
  4. Leverage the modern, visual, and collaborative tools from the Change Planning Toolkit™ that are easily adapted to our new virtual work environment

Grab the ten free tools from the Change Planning Toolkit™ before purchasing a license so you can keep these three key frameworks front and center as you plan a more modular and conscious approach to managing the growing complexity in your organization:

  • PCC Change Readiness Framework
  • Organizational Agility Framework
  • Architecting the Organization for Continuous Change

Download the 10 Free Tools

Keep innovating!


Accelerate your change and transformation success

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Announcing the Change Planning Toolkit™ v9

Charting Change - Order NowDespite already investing more than one million dollars in the new intellectual property included in the Change Planning Toolkit™, I will continue to take your feedback and invest in creating new tools that make the toolkit even more valuable for everyone.

Today I’m excited to announce the Change Planning Toolkit™ v9 which includes new tools for:

  • Mapping of Stakeholder Teams and Individuals
  • Stakeholder Engagement Mapping

The Change Planning Canvas™ and the more than 50 tools in the toolkit will help make your change planning efforts more visual and collaborative, and enable you to get everyone literally all on the same page for change. The toolkit has been created to help organizations:

  1. Beat the 70% failure rate for change programs
  2. Quickly visualize, plan and execute change efforts
  3. Deliver projects and change efforts on time
  4. Accelerate implementation and adoption
  5. Get valuable tools for a low investment

Get your Change Planning Toolkit™ licenses now at a special price.

If you purchased a Change Planning Toolkit™ license over a year ago, you will want to renew your license so you can:

  • Download the latest version
  • Help shape future updates to the toolkit by contacting us to request new tools
  • Get access to any further updates over the next year

—————————————————————————————-
IMPORTANT: If you already purchased the book and are looking to access the supporting material, please contact me with your proof of purchase and I’ll send you the file.
—————————————————————————————-

Learning how to use the Change Planning Toolkit™ will create great opportunities for:

  1. Organizations to build a continuous change capability
  2. Consulting companies to increase revenue while achieving better client outcomes
  3. Education companies to build new organizational change course offerings

So, what are you waiting for?

Don’t endure even one more change or project failure.

Get the Change Planning Toolkit™ v9 today!


Accelerate your change and transformation success

Subscribe to Human-Centered Change & Innovation WeeklySign up here to get Human-Centered Change & Innovation Weekly delivered to your inbox every week.

Developing a Change Management Framework for Your Business

Developing a Change Management Framework for Your Business

GUEST POST from Chateau G Pato

Change is inevitable in today’s fast-paced business world, and organizations that can effectively manage and implement change are the ones that thrive. However, managing change can be complex and challenging, as it requires careful planning, communication, and employee involvement. To navigate successfully through change, businesses need to develop a robust change management framework. This article will provide insights into building such a framework using real-world case study examples.

Case Study 1: Procter & Gamble (P&G)

Procter & Gamble, a multinational consumer goods company, embarked on a significant restructuring initiative to streamline its product portfolio. The company aimed to focus on its core brands and divest underperforming units. However, implementing such a transformation required the buy-in and commitment of its employees.

P&G developed a change management framework comprising four key stages. Firstly, they initiated the change by articulating a clear vision and purpose for the restructuring, emphasizing the long-term benefits for the company and its employees. The second stage involved assessing the organization’s readiness for change, identifying potential barriers, and creating a detailed plan to address them.

Next, P&G prioritized communication and involvement throughout the transformation process. They ensured that all employees understood the rationale behind the change, the role they would play, and the benefits they could expect. This transparent and inclusive approach fostered collaboration and reduced resistance.

Finally, P&G focused on sustaining the change by continuously monitoring progress, celebrating milestones, and adapting the strategy as needed. By following this change management framework, P&G successfully navigated its restructuring, improving operational efficiency and strengthening its competitive position.

Case Study 2: Microsoft

Microsoft, the technology giant, witnessed a significant transformation under the leadership of Satya Nadella. One of the key initiatives undertaken was moving from a traditional product-centric approach to a cloud-first and mobile-first strategy. This shift required a cultural change within the organization and a new mindset among its employees.

Microsoft’s change management framework focused on developing a growth mindset by promoting learning, experimentation, and collaboration. They encouraged employees to embrace new technologies and methodologies by providing training, resources, and a supportive environment. This framework fostered innovation and agility, enabling Microsoft to adapt to market changes and launch successful cloud-based services such as Microsoft Azure and Office 365.

Additionally, Microsoft focused on building a sense of purpose and shared values among its employees. They empowered individuals to take ownership of their work and encouraged autonomy, leading to increased engagement and motivation. By implementing this change management framework, Microsoft successfully shifted its business strategy and achieved substantial growth.

Key Takeaways for Developing a Change Management Framework

These case studies highlight the essential components of a change management framework:

1. Articulate a clear vision and purpose for change: Ensure that all employees understand the rationale behind the change and the benefits it will bring to the organization.

2. Assess readiness and address barriers: Identify potential obstacles, develop a comprehensive plan to mitigate them, and create opportunities for employee feedback and involvement.

3. Foster communication and involvement: Establish open channels for communication, encourage feedback, and involve employees in the change process to reduce resistance and build a sense of ownership.

4. Prioritize sustainability: Continuously monitor progress, celebrate milestones, and adapt the change strategy as needed to sustain transformation.

By developing a robust change management framework and leveraging insights from real-world case studies like P&G and Microsoft, businesses can navigate change successfully, maximize employee engagement, and thrive in an ever-evolving marketplace.

SPECIAL BONUS: Braden Kelley’s Human-Centered Change methodology and its associated Change Planning Toolkit™ goes beyond ProSci’s ADKAR, the Association of Change Management Professionals’ (ACMP) Standard, and the PMBOK used by Project Management Professionals (PMP) but is designed to be consistent with them. You can get ten (10) FREE tools from the 70+ tools and frameworks in the Change Planning Toolkit™ here, along with more information about the Human-Centered Change methodology and Braden’s book Charting Change. Book buyers get access to even more tools, including the Change Planning Canvas™.

Accelerate your change and transformation success

Image credit: Pexels

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