On the road to success, almost everyone craves a short cut. People want the "how to" and they want it straight. Wouldn't it be lovely if we could simply snap our fingers and have our organizations change without all the growing pains? Yes, it would!

Managing the complexities of change starts at the beginning of the equation - How others view the world. In order to slightly shift how others view the world in a way that will benefit your organization, you need to understand and educate. Education requires knowledge, understanding, practical experience and application, and positive results. Education usually comes in the form of why change, where to change, and how to change, with the ability to practice. We can formulate and plan all day long but if there is not practice being implemented, the learning will take longer or cease to move at all. The pull of the "old way" is to just too great. Practice is something we don't do very well in business and that needs to change, especially in regards to making major shifts within an organization.

Another important component of managing the complexities of change are the reinforcers. Reinforcers are the positive notions that help the team feel good about their progress. This positive behavioral tool will help create sustainability in regards to the changes being made. They include formal and informal reward and recognition vehicles. This signals to the team that their efforts matter and are acknowledged. The better aligned these are to the desired behaviors and outcomes, the easier and more seamless the change is to make. Again, with these positive methods, you create that sustainability for change and allow your tactics toward obtaining the vision to stick longer term.