What happens when change fails?

I write a lot about how to make change work.

How to create successful, sustainable change.

But change doesn’t always work. It doesn’t always succeed. And sometimes when it initially seems successful, it backslides over time. (It takes work to make a supposedly-completed change “stick.”)

“So what do I do now?” a client’s project manager recently asked. Through no fault of their own or of their team’s, the budget for the project had been cut. The project won’t go through to completion.

It feels like a failure. The team has worked hard and has invested a lot of commitment and effort.

Now what?

There are two kinds of failed change

The first kind is what my client’s PM described: an external force comes along and cuts the project short.

The second kind is when the change itself fizzles out.

I’ve experienced both, and neither are fun.

In my client’s case, you could argue that if the project had been heading towards success, the budget wouldn’t’ve been cut. Maybe, maybe not.

That’s not actually relevant, because the reality is: first type: external force, no more project; second type: unrecoverable problems, no more project.

How to recover?

First thing to note: a failed change initiative IS a change in and of itself. The project is halted. That's a change!

And in either type of failure, the project team needs time to grieve the loss.

They put in time and effort. And let’s face it, whether it’s healthy or not, we all identify, at least to some extent, with our work. In the end, without that sense of identity, we wouldn’t be engaged or committed to showing up. (I’m setting aside the reality of uncommitted, disengaged team members as a completely separate issue.)

And now it feels like everyone’s time, effort, and commitment has essentially been poured down the drain.

Or has it?

Here’s the thing: it may be trite and cliché to point out that there’s always something to be learned – but – there’s always something to be learned.

How to learn?

Please don’t do a “postmortem.”

The project may be dead, but calling the review process a “postmortem” isn’t helpful. Instead, it only focuses on the it’s dead aspect, and inevitably leads to finger-pointing and blaming.

(Words matter, okay?)

I’m a huge fan of the After-Action Review. Originating with the military, it’s long since been picked up by organizations such as the California wildfire fighters, many big companies (Google says Microsoft is one), and is taught at top business schools.

The AAR asks four simple questions:

1.?????? What did you plan to do – what did you expect to happen?

Only the facts about the plan and objective may be presented here. What went differently is addressed in the next question. This requires attention from the facilitator to bring people back on track, because they will inevitably veer off to, “Well, we were going to do A, but then what happened – ” No. Stop at what was planned.

2.?????? What actually happened?

Now you get to describe the actual events.

3.?????? What were the differences, and why?

Pay attention. Some of the differences could be unexpected good things that went right – even in an initiative that failed.

4.?????? What will you learn and do differently?

This is your opportunity to reflect on some of those unexpected good things, and incorporate them into future projects – as well, of course, as identifying necessary corrections. With both those in place, future change initiatives will have greater chances of success.

Really important point: only those who actively participated in the change initiative under review may participate in the AAR. This is all about actual experience, not outside observation.

Why this works

It’s about curiosity, not gloom, doom, or blame.

It acknowledges the reality of problems, without freaking out.

It doesn’t move on too quickly; it gives intentional space to explore the problems AND – and this is important! – the POSITIVES. Learning should never be only about problems.

It’s not a magical cure-all for a failed change, but it helps people regain lost confidence after a setback – and it informs future change efforts with improvements to the process.

What about change that succeeds?

Absolutely use the AAR process here too! It’s always helpful to look at any event to see what can be learned, and the After-Action Review is useful in any situation. I know people who use it personally for their own benefit, as well, of course, with their teams.

Action steps

What’s the next project milestone or other event where you could use the AAR process?

It doesn’t have to be for a completely-finished initiative; milestones are excellent points for an AAR.

Give it a try. And let me know what you think!

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