Change Management Playbook
Most changes fail at implementation, not design. The ADKAR model tells you why and how to fix it.
Keywords
change management, ADKAR, organizational change, reorg, process change, tool migration, strategy pivot, change resistance, change fatigue, change communication, stakeholder management, adoption, compliance, change rollout, transition
Core Model: ADKAR Adapted for Startups
ADKAR is a change management model by Prosci. Original version is for enterprises. This is the startup-speed adaptation.
A — Awareness
What it is: People understand WHY the change is happening — the business reason, not just the announcement.
The mistake: Communicating the WHAT before the WHY. "We're moving to a new CRM" before "here's why our current process is killing us."
What people need to hear:
- What is the problem we're solving? (Be honest. If it's "we need to cut costs," say that.)
- Why now? What would happen if we didn't change?
- Who made this decision and how?
Startup shortcut: A 5-minute video from the CEO or decision-maker explaining the "why" in plain language beats a formal change announcement document every time.
D — Desire
What it is: People want to make the change happen — or at least don't actively resist it.
The mistake: Assuming communication creates desire. Awareness ≠ desire. People can understand a change and still hate it.
What creates desire:
- "What's in it for me?" — answer this for each stakeholder group, honestly
- Involving people in the "how" even if the "what" is decided
- Addressing fears directly: "Some people are worried this means their role is changing. Here's the truth: [honest answer]"
What destroys desire:
- Pretending the change is better for everyone than it is
- Ignoring the legitimate losses people will experience
- Making announcements without any consultation
Startup shortcut: Run a short "concerns and questions" session within 48 hours of announcement. Not to reverse the decision — to address the fears and show you're listening.
K — Knowledge
What it is: People know HOW to operate in the new world — the specific skills, behaviors, and processes.
The mistake: Announcing the change and assuming people will figure it out.
What people need:
- Step-by-step documentation of new processes
- Training or practice sessions before go-live
- Clear answers to "what do I do when [common scenario]?"
- Who to ask when they're stuck
Types of knowledge transfer:
| Method | Best for | When |
|---|
| Live training | Skill-based changes, complex tools | Before go-live |
| Documentation | Process changes, reference material | Always |
| Video walkthroughs | Tool migrations | Available 24/7, self-paced |
| Shadowing / peer learning | Behavior changes | Weeks 2–4 after launch |
| Office hours | Any change with many edge cases | First 4–6 weeks |
A — Ability
What it is: People have the time, tools, and support to actually do things differently.
The mistake: "We've trained everyone" ≠ "everyone can now do it." Training is knowledge. Ability is practice.
What creates ability:
- Time to practice before being evaluated
- A safe environment to make mistakes (no public shaming for early struggles)
- Reduced load during transition (if you're asking people to learn new skills, don't simultaneously pile on new work)
- Access to help (a Slack channel, a point person, documentation)
Signs of ability gap:
- People revert to old behavior under pressure
- Workarounds emerge (people invent their own way around the new system)
- Training scores are high but actual behavior hasn't changed
R — Reinforcement
What it is: The change sticks. The new behavior becomes the default.
The mistake: Declaring victory at go-live. Changes fail because they're never reinforced.
What creates reinforcement:
- Visible measurement (are we tracking adoption?)
- Recognition of early adopters ("Sarah fully migrated to the new workflow in week 2 — ask her how")
- Leader modeling (if the CEO uses the old way, everyone will)
- Removing the old option (when possible — eliminate the path of least resistance)
- Consequences for non-adoption (stated clearly, applied consistently)
Adoption vs. compliance:
- Compliance: People do it when watched, revert when not
- Adoption: People do it because they believe it's better
Only reinforcement creates adoption. Compliance is the result of enforcement. Aim for adoption.
Change Types and ADKAR Application
Process Change (new tools, new workflows)
Timeline: 4–8 weeks for full adoption
Hardest phase: Ability (people know what to do but haven't built the habit)
Critical reinforcement: Remove or deprecate the old tool/process
Communication sequence:
- Week -2: Announce the why + go-live date
- Week -1: Training sessions available
- Week 0 (go-live): Launch + point person available
- Week 2: Adoption check-in (who's using it? Who isn't?)
- Week 4: Feedback collection + public wins
- Week 8: Old system deprecated
Org Change (reorg, new leader, team splits/merges)
Timeline: 3–6 months for full stabilization
Hardest phase: Desire (people fear for their roles and relationships)
Critical reinforcement: Consistent behavior from new leadership
Communication sequence:
- Day 0: Announce the change with the "why" — in person or synchronous video
- Day 1: 1:1s with most affected team members by their manager
- Week 1: FAQ published with honest answers to the 10 most common concerns
- Week 2–4: New structure is operating (don't delay implementation)
- Month 2: First retrospective — what's working, what needs adjustment
- Month 3–6: Regular check-ins on team health and morale
What to say when a leader is leaving or being replaced:
Be honest about what you can share. Never: "We can't share the reasons." Always: either a truthful explanation or "we're not able to share the specifics, but I can tell you [what this means for you]."
Strategy Pivot (new direction, killed products)
Timeline: 3–12 months for full alignment
Hardest phase: Awareness (people don't believe the pivot is real)
Critical reinforcement: Resource reallocation that visibly proves the pivot is happening
Communication sequence:
- Internal first, always. Employees should never hear about a pivot from a press release.
- All-hands with full context: what changed in the market, what you're doing, what it means for teams
- Each team leader runs a "what does this mean for us?" conversation with their team
- Resource reallocation announced within 2 weeks (if the money doesn't move, people won't believe the pivot)
- First milestone of the new direction celebrated publicly
What kills pivots: Announcing a new direction while still funding the old one at the same level.
Culture Change (values refresh, behavior expectations)
Timeline: 12–24 months for genuine behavior change
Hardest phase: Reinforcement (behavior doesn't change just because values were announced)
Critical reinforcement: Visible decisions that reflect the new values
Communication sequence:
- Build with input: involve a representative sample of the company in defining the change
- Announce with story: "Here's what we observed, here's what we're changing and why"
- Behavior anchors: for each culture change, state the specific behavior in observable terms
- Leader behavior: leadership team must visibly model the new behavior first
- Performance integration: new expected behaviors appear in reviews within one cycle
- Celebrate the right behaviors: when someone exemplifies the new culture, name it publicly
Resistance Patterns
Resistance is information, not defiance. Diagnose before responding.
| Resistance pattern | What it signals | Response |
|---|
| "This won't work" | Awareness gap or credibility gap | Explain the evidence base for the change |
| "Why now?" | Awareness gap | Explain urgency — what happens if we don't change |
| "I wasn't consulted" | Desire gap | Acknowledge the gap; involve them in the "how" now |
| "I don't have time for this" | Ability gap | Reduce their load or push the timeline |
| "We tried this before" | Trust gap | Acknowledge what's different this time. Be specific. |
| Silent non-compliance | Could be any gap | 1:1 conversation to diagnose |
The worst response to resistance: Dismissing it. "Some people are resistant to change" as if resistance is a personality flaw rather than a signal.
Change Fatigue
When organizations change too fast, people stop believing any change will stick.
Signals
- Eye-rolls during change announcements ("here we go again")
- Low attendance at change-related sessions
- Fast compliance on paper, slow adoption in practice
- "Last month we were doing X, now we're doing Y" comments
Prevention
- Finish what you start. Don't announce a new change while the last one is still being absorbed.
- Space changes. One significant change at a time. Give 2–3 months of stability between major changes.
- Announce what's NOT changing. People in change-fatigue need to know what's stable.
- Show results. Publish what the previous change achieved before launching the next.
When you're already in change fatigue
- Pause non-critical changes
- Run a "change inventory": how many changes are in progress simultaneously?
- Prioritize ruthlessly: which changes are essential now? Which can wait?
- Communicate stability: "Here's what is NOT changing this quarter"
Key Questions for Change Management
- "Who are the most skeptical people about this change? Have we talked to them directly?"
- "Do people understand why we're doing this, or just what we're doing?"
- "Have we given people time to practice before we measure performance on the new way?"
- "Is the old way still available? If so, people will use it."
- "Are leaders modeling the new behavior themselves?"
- "How many changes are we running simultaneously right now?"
Red Flags
- Change announced on Friday afternoon (people stew over the weekend)
- "This is final, questions are not welcome" framing
- No published FAQ or way to ask questions safely
- Old system/process still running 6 weeks after "go-live"
- Leaders exempted from the change they're asking everyone else to make
- No measurement of adoption — assuming go-live = success
Detailed References
references/change-playbook.md — ADKAR deep dive, resistance counter-strategies, communication templates, change fatigue management