One of the questions I hear a lot is:
How can you tell when a big project or change initiative is about to derail?
Recently, I was reminded of a situation involving a highly controversial organizational change. The planning team had spent months developing a detailed proposal. They were preparing to present it to key stakeholders and were bracing for what they called “the bomb”—a meeting they expected to go very badly.
What happened next revealed something important.
The issue wasn’t the quality of their plan. It wasn’t the timeline, budget, or deliverables. The issue was that they had designed the meeting to answer questions people weren’t asking.
When they took a closer look at what stakeholders were actually concerned about, they discovered that most of the resistance wasn’t about understanding the change. People were worried about what the change might mean for them. Others weren’t sure they trusted the people leading it.
That insight completely changed how they approached the conversation.
In this week’s video, I share the simple exercise that helped them identify those concerns and redesign their approach before the project went off the rails.
Watch the video to learn how to spot early warning signs of resistance and why understanding what people are really thinking can dramatically improve the odds of success.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, insights, or questions. Please comment on my LinkedIn post here so others can benefit, too.
About the Author, Rick Maurer
