"WHAT ARE WE DOING THIS FOR?"

QUESTIONS FOR PLANNING THE TRANSFORMATION FOCUS

Purpose: Articulating the reasons for change.

Who: Members of a pilot group looking at potential change initiatives.

Time: Several hours. Allow time for people to talk through the reasoning behind their

answers to these questions, especially when there is disagreement.

Questions:

1. Why is the change urgent? Are we driven by external forces? By a crisis? Or by our

collective desire to create something together? Why might this effort actually matter?

(See next activity to support determining the driving cause for change.)

2. Who wants it to happen? Who (in or out of the group) has set change as a priority? Are

there clearly defined sponsors of the change effort? Are we aware of their needs and the

pressures they feel? What might be the reasoning behind their requests?

3. What results do we want to produce? What, specifically, is the change we are seeking?

If the change takes place, what will that get us? How will our efforts benefit our

customers?

4. How will we change? What kinds of new capabilities will we need to develop? And

how will we develop them? Which aspects of our current work and practices will be

affected by the change? What challenges do we expect to face? And how could we

prepare for them?

5. Who will be involved? Will the change initiative mean new activities for everyone in

this group? Should other people (inside or outside the group) be included?

6. Where is our support? In the organization at large, what is the reputation of our group,

and of our sponsors? Will that help or hinder us?

7. What do I, personally, have to do? When will the change initiative begin? What steps

do I need to take, in which domain? What do I hope to learn? What skills and capabilities

would I like to gain? And what do I want to do first?

Adapted from Ross, R.; Roberts, C.; & Senge, P. (1999). The Dance of Change. New York: Currency Doubleday, pp. 166-167.