The Science of Successful Organizational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behavior, and Create an Agile Culture

Part II: Change Strategy

“Tactics teaches the use of armed forces in the engagement; strategy, the use of engagements for the object of the war.”

—General Carl von Clausewitz, On War

Change Strategy

What is commonly called change strategy is not very strategic because strategy properly focuses on goals and not on how to deliver those goals. Many publications on change strategy unhelpfully define it as stakeholder management, communications, HR alignment, short-term wins, benefits realization, people development, and organization design. All of those are how to deliver a strategy—and in my view are tactical, not strategic. Change strategy should be at a level above those how questions.¹

¹ One could argue that change management includes change ...