Running out of steam
Why do so few changes lead to the desired results? Why is it that many significant investments just run out of steam and give poor results or just bring about short-term improvement? Through surveys, we have asked hundreds of managers what has actually been achieved by change processes in their organizations. Just under half of all the change projects are perceived to lead to the expected results. A major service company has told us that perhaps 25% of all their initiated change projects led to a satisfactory result. It is also notable that many managers feel insecure in their role as change managers, and are uncertain of the scope of their mandate as well as their responsibilities. Some find it difficult to reconcile this kind of work with the ongoing operations. This vivid picture from the real world of managers has inspired us to develop a mindset, tools, methods, and pedagogy to promote change processes and to ensure lasting results. In our approach, we emphasize the necessity of the collaboration that must take place between the intentions of the change and the prevailing organizational culture.
 
Culture as a lever
Culture consequently becomes to all intents and purposes a lever of change. We would therefore emphasize that all change processes should take into account the central role of the organizational culture, be it as a force working with the change or against it; and based on this insight to choose a change strategy that has a real possibility of creating lasting results. A culture may be changed over time, but must also serve as an “anchor” of security for employees.
We have also developed a new, powerful and innovative approach to cultural analysis, which we have used very successfully during a major, strategic change in a medium-sized company.

Concepts for navigation
It is important to distinguish between changes in the sense of creating a new structure and in the sense of mental shift. The creation of a structure is something that occurs externally, while the mental conversion occurs internally, within us, and often takes a longer period of time. If no such shift is achieved, there will be no real change. It is not sufficient to focus on what we will benefit from the change, nor what ultimate goal we have, change must also entail a transitional process that works. In a change project, it is necessary to understand and deal with structure and content, but also with the culture’s characteristics, the learning processes, and the mental shift.
 
It is against this background we have developed methods such as The Rope®, The Giro®, and The Stable©. More recently, we have also developed innovative methods to measure culturally based motivations and analyze organizational culture. These are all tools and methods of change and no ready solutions, but help us to analyze, plan and navigate the process and ensure the moving ahead, the participation, the learning, and the handling of people’s different reactions. Our role in change and development is to be process consultants and experts who do not come with ready-made solutions. We believe that lasting change must emerge in the interaction between the basis and viability of the organization, and informed choices of methodology and approach.