Mindset matters: Go live is just a date
Oct 23, 2022Project teams tend to think of go-live as the end-all be-all.
We're either successful or a failure, depending on whether the go-live date gets hit.
When it comes to people readiness, go-live is just a date on the calendar.
Success happens when the change sticks, that's typically weeks, months or even years later.
Most new practitioners of change fall into the trap of thinking everything needs to be DONE before go-live. Including training. That's about project team goals, not stakeholder needs.
Why would you learn to use something BEFORE you can actually use it?!
Following go-live, there's at least 30 percent of the change work yet to do. This includes delivering training materials, facilitating the rapid response to questions and system defects, plus settling into new rhythms for enhancements and updates to sustain the change.
It's when leaders need to recognize the hard work of the project team, encourage new behaviors (and correct those that don't support the change) and thank anyone and everyone for learning and growing.
Be patient. Be persistent. That's the key to successful change adoption. Keep at it long after go-live until a majority of stakeholders have shifted into new ways of working.
It's not a box to be checked on go-live.
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@nadineshaabana?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Nadine Shaabana</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/line?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>
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