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14 Change architecture

Introduction

In this chapter we propose to explore the underlying ‘building blocks’ of suc-
cessful change. What are the characteristics of a successful change programme?
Is there more to say than the helpful advice one gets in much of the literature?
Generally managers are exhorted to ‘create a clear vision’, to ‘engage people in
the process’, to ‘communicate, communicate, communicate’, to ‘involve people’
and so on. All of this is fair enough. But is it enough?
Many people ask me whether or not a total quality management programme
is an example of what this book talks about. Similarly people refer to business
process re-engineering. When I say ‘yes’ they then ask me what is different about
such programmes of change. To this I answer nothing except that the ‘packaging’
is different. So far in this book we have been concerned to analyse change and
the problems of change. Through such analysis comes better understanding and
thus we are able to handle change more effectively.
But is that enough? In the real world change must be defined and ‘sold’. It must
be controlled (at some level). It must be managed to achieve and sustain momen-
tum. Managers need to attract attention. In this chapter therefore we are con-

cerned with programmes of change. We shall examine some of the important
design parameters facing those taking overall responsibility for a major change
effort. Our concern will be on how to create a programme of change.
What we deal with here is relevant to generic organization-wide change and to
multi-organizational change. Total quality management programmes and busi-
ness process re-engineering programmes are currently good examples of how to
achieve change. A joint venture would be a classic multi-organizational example.
One of the problems each of us experiences when we attempt to relate mod-
els of change with our real-world experience of change is that formal models of
change generally give an impression of change as a neat, orderly sequence of
activities or stages. Conversely, our experience is usually altogether more
‘messy’. Activities are often going on in parallel. We often recycle through dif-
ferent stages as we pilot a new organizational design on new marketing policy,
only to find that in some respects it does not work. As we shall see, our response
is to see change as a spiral process and to view it as comprising three essential

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