The I.N.S.P.I.R.E. approach to change management

There’s no denying that change agents and leaders face a myriad of challenges when implementing change initiatives. As a change leader, practitioner and coach for 20+ years, I can relate to your pain, frustration and sleepless nights you experience while leading change and coaching your people going through the change journey. My sole objective of writing this book is to help you by sharing a practical, structured, and results-driven approach to lead, coach and accelerate your change initiatives ethically.

The I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© Adaptive Change Excellence Model is grounded on the principles of behavioral science and psychology of human behavior, and it will help you to not only plan and implement your change initiative in the most efficient and effective manner but also accelerate your ongoing change initiatives. Through this groundbreaking model, you will gain the techniques, strategies, and insights needed to inspire your people and motivate them intrinsically to significantly increase your probability of success.

I am passionate about continuous improvement (CI) and change management (CM), and I have been working with people from shop floor level to senior leaders and CEOs, training and coaching them on a daily basis on CI and CM tools, methodologies, strategies, and change leadership for over two decades. I have failed multiple times and through each failure/setback, I have learned, applied, refined and fine-tuned my approach.

The I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© people-centric framework can be applied to almost any change initiative of any complexity in any industry. Your change initiative could be a process improvement initiative or increasing diversity and inclusiveness or an ERP software deployment or a technology/system upgrade or a complex merger and acquisition or a transition/deployment panning multiple geographies. Through this adaptive model, you will be immersed in concepts that are based on rigorous proven applications across industries and cultures globally which will guide you to navigate your entire change journey. 

What is the I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© Adaptive Change Excellence Model?

I - Inspire the Need for (your) Change (Initiative): In my experience, it does not matter how great you think your change initiative is, if your people are not inspired and motivated by it, it is doomed to fail. In this phase, you will learn not only learn about building a case for change and a robust strategy but also about the essential strategies on how to truly inspire your people to embrace new possibilities.

N - Navigate your Org and Build a Strong Coalition: Understand your organizational culture (including how it is formed) to identify, involve, inspire, analyze, and manage your key stakeholders. Learn about forming a change management team early on and how Sponsors can collaborate with change management team to build a strong coalition. Form your change governance structure as well.

S - Surface Resistance Proactively: Instead of waiting for resistance to hit you when you least expected (believe me, this happens in more than 95% of all well-meaning change initiatives) and derail or delay your change initiative, you will learn how to uncover and surface sources of resistance proactively. By studying past implementations, reviewing the current change load in your org, understanding resistance, including your own resistance, weighing the impact of your change initiative on the people, processes, systems, etc., and evaluating the readiness of your people for the change,  you will not only learn to manage resistance effectively but also learn that resistance can be beneficial as well. 

P - Plan your Implementation: In this phase, you will learn how to foster psychological safety, involve the right people and develop practical implementation plans including communication plan, social media plan, consequence management plan, resistance management plan, reward and recognition plan, lessons learned documentation plan etc. and crucially, how to recognize an unviable change initiative early on to stop expending your precious resources unnecessarily.

I - Implement your Change Initiative: Planning without implementing is just wishing, right? Through examples of successful and failed implementation plans from around the world, you will learn how to leverage people side of change, identify early adopters, leverage your org culture and implement your plans efficiently, track progress, and refine, review, or revamp your plans as per the needs of your organization and your customers. You will also benefit immensely by learning how to accelerate your change initiative.

R - Reinforce and Sustain: More than 70% of change initiatives lose momentum or get abandoned after the initial excitement and fanfare. Through best practices, examples and case studies, we will explore how to embed your change initiative into your organization's culture, systems, and processes, reward your teams, sustain the momentum, and continue to deliver superior long-lasting results.

E - Evaluate and Learn: In this phase, you will learn how to evaluate your change effort using techniques such as post implementation reviews, retrospectives and help everyone in your org (including your successors) to understand your implementation and leverage valuable insights for future change initiatives.

With proven strategies, real-world examples, case studies, coaching techniques and practical suggestions, the I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© adaptive change excellence model can be applied to a wide plethora of change initiatives, from small scale team level implementations to large-scale cross functional organizational transformations.

Why should you follow I.N.S.P.I.R.E. Model?

Several change management models have been developed by professionals (refer figure above). While these change management models have their merits, in my experience, they often fail to delve deeply into critical areas that are essential for addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by today's business and change leaders, and change management practitioners like You.

These crucial aspects include tapping into employees' intrinsic motivations and inspiring the need for change, comprehensively understanding organizational culture, learning from past implementations, assessing the current change load, and proactively surfacing and managing resistance. Moreover, these models often overlook the significance of integrating principles from the psychology of human behavior and behavioral science, coaching stakeholders at all levels throughout the change journey, fostering coping strategies, implementing effective reinforcement techniques, and establishing accountability measures. The true essence lies in facilitating the seamless and natural application of these techniques, rather than burdening leaders and practitioners with templates and theories.

With the "I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© adaptive change excellence model," my aim is to offer a comprehensive solution that directly caters to the needs of Transformation Leaders, Change Management Practitioners and aspiring Change Management Coaches. By addressing the aforementioned critical areas, this tried and tested model empowers You to navigate the complexities of change management with confidence and ease. It fosters an environment where the application of these techniques becomes second nature, ensuring a seamless integration of the model's principles into the fabric of the organization. The I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© model serves as a guide, providing the necessary tools, strategies and guidance to create a culture of adaptability, resilience, and sustainable change within your organization.

To learn more about how I.N.S.P.I.R.E.© adaptive change excellence model can benefit you in your journey towards excellence, the book is available for purchase across 40,000+ retailers and bookstores globally including Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, Amazon, Strandbooks, etc.