Change Appetite: The Hunger for Change

Debasis is a project management consultant in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

  Change Management   Estimating  

This article is the second in a series on change, following The ABCs of Change: A Path for Change Management.

You know that there is a need to bring in change. Some processes are not as effective as they were intended to be--teams are slipping, and the expected deliverables are not being met. The shortcomings are evident to most people, yet the easiest course of action is “Business as usual.” People are used to working in a particular way, and trying to modify that requires:

1. Desire
2. Vision
3. Reason
4. Benefits

All of these are relative, and differ from person to person. For one who has identified a need for change initiatives, the “What is in it for me?” factor has to be considered. And since the appreciation of that is also relative (as viewed by the various stakeholders), the change journey can be daunting.

A change initiator understands the benefits and sees the reason why change has to be brought about. If the concept for change--primarily what the change result would be--is something that is brought to the table by the change initiator, then the view the initiator would have on the benefits is expected to be through rose-tinted glasses. Nonetheless, change requires advocacy and sponsorship.

The Appetite
Change appetite is the first item to consider for advocacy. The larger the …

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