Every change starts with three questions from the people who have to carry it out. What are we changing? Why are we changing it? And the one that gets skipped most often: why now?
I’ve worked in organizations where change was constant. Some of those changes felt like change for the sake of change. Looking back, there were probably very good reasons behind most of them. The data likely showed us a better way. Those reasons just never made it to the people doing the work.
So people did what was asked. They implemented the change, a bit haphazardly, with an energy I’d describe as “Well, if I have to.” Adoption was weak, and the change faded before it had a real chance to work.
That pattern is why I keep coming back to John Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change. All eight steps matter, and the full model is worth a read. Today I want to focus on Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency. In my experience, this is the step that decides whether the other seven have anything to stand on.
Urgency is shared understanding
When I talk about urgency, I mean that everyone involved can answer the what, the why and the why now. That includes leadership, the managers in the middle and the staff member at the front desk.
If people aren’t brought in on why we’re making the change in the first place, they won’t be willing to do what it takes to execute it. At that point, you’ve lost before you’ve even started.
What it looks like when it works
Some of the best change initiatives I’ve seen, including ones I’ve been part of, were tied to a very clear problem statement. It had three parts:
- This is what we’re facing.
- This is the solution we’re implementing.
- This is why it matters for you, and why you need to learn it and do it today.
When people hear all three, the energy shifts. They bring more vitality. They’re more committed. The new process becomes something they own.
Here’s how that might sound in a financial aid office moving verification follow-up out of individual inboxes and into a shared workflow:
“Right now, verification follow-ups live in our own inboxes, and students wait while we track down who has what. Disbursement is coming up fast. This workflow puts every open item in one place, so any of us can see which student needs help first. That’s why we’re training this week.”
What we’re facing, what we’re doing and why it matters today. Short and clear.
Why this matters even more with AI
Almost everyone agrees that automation with AI is a good idea in theory. In application, the whole team has to be aligned on the problem statement and on why now is the time to solve it. Before anyone opens a tool, I want the group to answer three questions:
- What problem are we solving?
- What makes it urgent today?
- How do we want AI to help us solve it?
As I wrote in AI is not an Easy Button, AI is at its most powerful when we point it at a specific problem. Naming that problem together, and agreeing on why it can’t wait, is part of the process. It’s also the foundation for good measurement later, which I covered in Data-Driven Decisions Start with Knowing What to Ask.
The step I never skip
In every AI Enablement Workshop and Workflow Automation Sprint I lead, we start here. We name the problem. We agree on why now. And we make sure every person in the room can explain why the change matters for their own work.
Adoption depends on it.
If your team has a change coming and you’d like help building a clear case for “why now,” I’d love to talk. Book a free 30-minute call.
Try it: Building your case for “why now”? My free AI Readiness Check helps your team see where you’re strong and where to start.
