The Bridge
The Bridge: Pathway to a Successful Future
I can’t count on my fingers and toes how many times we’ve been brought into client change initiatives after they have gone off course or completely unraveled, typically for the most fundamental of reasons.
More often then not, the people responsible for making the change happen simply don’t know why it’s necessary, continue to do things the “old way,” and/or they have no idea what the intended results are supposed to be.
These are all clear signs of a poorly constructed Bridge process; where the present state, future state and/or transition plan is poorly defined.
Basically, it works like this … you start by analyzing the “Present State” to explain why the change is necessary. Then you define and describe what the intended “Future State” will look like. Finally, you consider and plan out what transitions will be necessary to form the “Pathway or Bridge” that will lead to real change.
The next phase in the process is to implement the transition plans you’ve created through your analysis until you’ve achieved your ideal future state.
It’s a very straightforward model that’s certainly not breaking new ground. But, if utilized regularly, can have a tremendous impact on any business; particularly with the right support tools in place. In fact, we use this model on a daily basis for our internal change initiatives.
Obviously, I’ve only presented a simplified view of a Bridge process. There are a number of intangibles that can affect the success of a change initiative; culture, history, fear, buy-in, readiness, etc. These are the types of issues that we work with clients aggressively to help manage.
Bottom line, when a Bridge process is used properly you will create a compelling story that holistically defines your change initiative, identifies what is required to move your company to the future state, mitigates areas of resistance and risk, and gets buy in from your people early and often throughout the transition.
Author: Vicky Jarosz