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Change is an essential part of any evolving, growing, and innovative organization. In the past, change initiatives came in waves. Today, change is the air organizations breathe. Most companies now run multiple major initiatives at once, and only about one in three reaches full success (1). But this isn’t the end of the story. U.S. employee engagement remains a persistent challenge that affects both execution and outcomes (5). Evidenced by research, desiring change and making efforts to achieve it is not enough. To be successful, organizations must treat change as core strategy and manage the human side with the same rigor as the action plans and tactics (2)(5) 

This article explains the forces at play, where transformations break down, and what leaders can learn from two real-world examples. Parts 2 and 3 will build on this foundation with a practical leadership playbook and an execution model for internal meetings. 

WHAT RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT THE NEW CONSTANT 

Multiple studies point to the same reality. Organizations juggle several change initiatives at once, leaders expect the pace to increase, and fewer than half of programs deliver fully on their aims. It’s clear that change is the crucial operating reality that every executive team must navigate today (1). 

Why Is Change Ever-Present in Today’s Organizations? 

Markets shift. Regulations evolve. Customers expect and demand more. Technology evolves, creating new efficiencies and capabilities for how work gets done. These priorities rarely arrive one at a time. They stack. When companies treat each initiative as a one-off project, execution competes for attention. This results in a transition that fails to achieve the intended outcome (1)(3)(4). 

When the significant parts of change — strategy, structure, technology, and culture — align, results improve because the organization functions as one chain rather than a set of disconnected links (3)(4). The alignment is practical, not abstract. It shows up in faster decisions, clearer accountability, and tools that actually change daily choices. 

FOUR CHAINS THAT MUST LINK FOR SUCCESSFUL CHANGE 

  1. Strategic Change: What you sell, who you serve, and how you go to market.
  2. Structural Change: Roles, reporting lines, and governance that shape speed and clarity. 
  3. Technology Change: Systems and tools that alter daily decisions and workflows. 
  4. People and Culture Change: Beliefs and behaviors that let the strategy live in everyday choices. 

Accenture and Deloitte both describe the value of aligning these chains around people so the parts reinforce each other instead of competing for attention (3)(4). 

WHERE CHANGE BREAKS DOWN 

Inside the Workforce 

People buy in and commit when they are involved early, feel their voice matters, understand the why, and can see themselves doing the new work. When those conditions are absent, even strong business cases fizzle out or die altogether (7). 

Managers are the lighthouses of the organization. Their beam of energy and clarity shapes team readiness and capability. If managers are exhausted or under-equipped, their strain spills over to employees and erodes confidence during change. So, to minimize the impact of strain, rollouts should be paced, managers should be equipped with the tools they need, and they should be given time to practice before any change is launched (6). 

Why Change Initiatives Stall in the Workplace 

  • No early manager involvement. Managers hear the plan late, lack scripts, and end up improvising. 
  • Thin role clarity. People cannot see how their day-to-day changes, so commitment stays low. 
  • No rehearsal.Teams are asked to perform live without practice or feedback. 
  • No early proof. Pilots do not produce visible, role-level wins that build belief. 
  • No recognition. Effort goes unnoticed, engagement lowers, and momentum fades. 

In Front of the Customer 

Employee experience (EX)  and customer experience (CX) move together like synchronized swimmers performing in precise unison. When teams are informed, equipped, and recognized, customers feel it and see it lived out. Gallup research found a correlation between higher engagement and stronger customer outcomes and profitability. This evidence forms the business case for investing in adoption, not just installation (5). 

THE THRILL OF VICTORY, THE AGONY OF DEFEAT 

Understanding real organizations in motion helps leaders see the turning points that numbers alone can hide. Stories make patterns visible. They show where conviction pays off and where vision outruns adoption. Consider one success where leaders stayed the course through a turbulent transition, and one cautionary tale where ambition outpaced user trust. 

Committing Through a Turbulent Transition 

  • The Situation: Adobe shifted from perpetual licenses to a subscription model. The move touched pricing, release cycles, and customer expectations. Long-time users voiced concerns in public forums and petitions. Headlines questioned the strategy (9). 
  • The Core Question: Could Adobe move revenue and customers to a new model without damaging the brand or the business? 
  • What Leaders Did: They set a clear objective and stayed on task. External decisions were matched with internal enablement. Product teams tightened release cadences to deliver steady improvements customers could feel. Marketing and customer success refined value stories for individual creators and enterprise buyers. Leaders ran short learning loops across go-to-market, product, and customer success to reduce friction and build confidence (11)(12). 
  • The Outcome: Public-market observers noted that well-executed shifts to software-as-a-service can be rewarded when leaders commit and guide expectations during early turbulence (10). The subscription model widened Adobe’s user base and improved revenue quality, which set the stage for continuous innovation (9)(10)(11)(12). 

A Cautionary Tale on Adoption 

  • The Situation: IBM made a large bet on health data and AI to transform clinical decision-making and create a new growth engine. 
  • The Core Question: Could the vision translate into trusted tools in real clinical workflows? 
  • What Leaders Did: Leadership emphasized rapid scale, acquisitions, and high-level partnerships while products still needed deeper integration and stronger proof of value in day-to-day clinical use. Integration across acquisitions was difficult, and trust in high-stakes settings lagged. Analysts highlighted how marketing promises outpaced consistent, validated results in the flow of care, which made buyers hesitant to commit (13)(14). 
  • The Outcome: IBM sold core Watson Health assets in 2022 for a reported figure just over $1 billion. But to assemble Watson Health, IBM spent more than $4 billion acquiring health data and imaging analytics companies, including Truven Health Analytics and Merge Healthcare, creating a multibillion-dollar gap between invested capital and sale value. Beyond the dollars, the effort consumed years of executive focus and drew critical coverage when promised clinical impact did not materialize. The lesson is blunt: scaling before users feel and trust the value in daily clinical work is a fragile strategy (13)(14)(15)(16). 

A CHECKLIST FOR LEADERS 

  • Anchor to a Real Customer Outcome – Make early benefits visible and measurable for users and buyers. Define the first value moment in plain language and track it.
     
  • Equip the Managers Who Carry the Message – Provide clear talking points, short scripts, and role-specific job aids. Schedule rehearsal time so managers can practice before launch (6)(7).
     
  • Prove Value in Short Cycles – Pilot with real users. Publish simple role-level metrics. Share quick wins so belief compounds into momentum (5)(10)(12).

    PRO TIP:  Bake recognition and incentives into the change plan. Encourage engagement with visible shout-outs, peer nominations, and small rewards for behaviors that move the needle. Recognize both quick wins and unglamorous plays that remove friction. Spotlight top performers who model the new way so others follow their lead.
     

  • Link the Four Chains – Strategy stalls without structure. New systems sit idle without behavior change. Culture language falls flat without operational follow-through. Link strategy, structure, technology, and people practices so they pull in the same direction and reinforce one another in daily decisions (3)(4).
     
  • Track the Human Signals That Predict Outcomes – Monitor the leading indicators closest to adoption: confidence by role, manager readiness, psychological safety in pilot teams, and actual use of new tools in the flow of work. Review these signals regularly and act on them with the same urgency you bring to revenue or cost metrics (5)(7). 

WRAPPING UP PART 1:  

Change is not slowing down. It’s a constant in nimble and agile organizations.  As bestselling author and leadership expert John C. Maxwell puts it, “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional” (8). Leaders who link the chains, equip managers, and prove value in short cycles make change both humane and effective. 

What’s next:  

  • In Part 2, we will translate these lessons into a practical leadership playbook you can start using this quarter. 
  • In Part 3, we will show how to turn internal meetings and offsites into execution engines that build confidence, speed, and accountability. 

 

Looking to improve change initiative success rates? Get in touch with Gavel International for more information about our incentive programs. 

___________ 

SOURCES 

1 https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/insights/organizational-change-management 

2 https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/insights/organizational-change-management 

3 https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/2024/a-science-backed-approach-to-change-can-double-the-success-of-transformation-efforts-new-accenture-report-finds 

4 https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/services/consulting/services/about-our-organization-transformation.html 

5 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236927/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx 

6 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10962330/ 

7 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9895850/ 

8 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/25030-change-is-inevitable-growth-is-optional 

9 https://www.wired.com/2013/05/adobe-creative-cloud-petition 

10 https://hbr.org/2017/01/how-investors-react-when-companies-announce-theyre-moving-to-a-saas-business-model 

11 https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2018/08/23/adobe-how-to-dominate-the-subscription-economy/ 

12 https://www.productled.org/blog/insiders-4-lessons-learned-adobe-fabled-saas-transformation 

13 https://www.wsj.com/business/c-suite/ibm-sells-watson-health-assets-to-investment-firm-11642772712 

14 https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/21/ibm-watson-health-francisco-partners/ 

15 https://www.reuters.com/article/business/ibm-to-buy-merge-healthcare-in-1-billion-deal-idUSKCN0QB1ML/ 

16 https://www.fiercebiotech.com/data-management/ibm-strikes-2-6b-deal-for-truven-to-feed-watson-s-appetite-for-health-data 

 

This article was last updated on December 1, 2025

Jeff Richards
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