Several months ago, we took a taxi from our hotel to our client to teach a class about change. After a longer than normal ride, we realized the driver didn’t know where to go. Because we didn’t speak the same language as the driver, we found it hard to communicate that we were going in the wrong direction. After several failed attempts to find out where we were (including changing taxis), we eventually arrived in time to teach the workshop. But not until [...]

Only 30 per cent of change succeeds, say authors Kendall Lyman and Tony Daloisio – and a 70 per cent failure rate would be unacceptable outside the ranks of leadership. That figure comes from a 1996 study by a Harvard Business School professor. The pair authors are partners at The Highlands Group, a US-based management consultancy specialising in strategy, organisational change and leadership development, which has worked with Kellogg’s, KPMG, Merck, Mobil and AT&T. Getting change right can have win-or-fail and even life-or-death [...]