If the goals for a change effort are not clearly formulated and if adequate assessment of current resources has not taken place before the change is initiated, then one will rarely be able to sustain commitment over a long changeover period, nor make critical judgments concerning an upturn in productivity and morale at the right point during the change effort. One should be able to set a time for program review prior to the start of a change effort. While this review date might be open to some adjustment as the change effort unfolds, one should be able to determine at some point relatively early in the life of a change effort if the downturn in productivity and morale is about to end or has ended. If the downturn continues or if productive and morale level off at a low level, then a decision should be made to explore the reasons for this failure and to revise the change program, initiate a new program (based on lessons learned from the current change effort) or return to the previous status (with a new appreciation for its positive attributes and/or with suggestions for less drastic modifications in its structure).
These then are the central ingredients to keep in mind when initiating or encouraging others to initiate a major change effort:
• awareness about the change curve, commitment to the change decision
• capacity to sustain the system during the change
• adequate planning for and monitoring of the change effort.
If awareness, commitment, capacity and planning are not present, then stabilization may be a more appropriate strategy than change. During a period of stabilization, one can encourage those involved in the potential change effort to become more fully acquainted with the dynamics of change and development—especially the change curve—while also working closely with these people to build their commitment to the change.
During a period of stability, an individual or organization may wish to do a better job with current resources, structures, procedures and so forth, in order to build up a capacity to sustain the disruptive effects of future change efforts. An HRD department may wish to work through its own internal human relations problems before seeking to help other departments work through their human relations problems. A high school teacher, for instance, might wish to become a better lecturer or discussion leader as a precursor to learning how to conduct simulations or role-plays. A sales force may wish to become more intimately familiar with its current product line before taking on a new sales strategy involving an expanded portfolio.
