An approach in which the listener suspends his or her own agenda for a time in order to fully comprehends the speaker's position, attitude and feelings.

This is a role that performs areas of work within a business system. Actors are usually user roles, mapped to the individual or group responsible for carrying out the work. An actor may also be an IT system, and time may also be an actor.

An “adaptive” challenge is defined as a problem, issue or opportunity that “demands a response outside of your current repertoire”, in other words, a challenge that you don’t readily have the information needed to find the answer and there is no set formula for how to solve it.

Most leaders mistreat adaptive challenges as technical problems, for which they already know the answer or know which expert to go to for the answer. For technical challenges, both the problem and the solution are clear and there is often a defined timeline. But for adaptive challenges, uncovering both the problem and solution requires learning from those involved. Instead of “fixing” the problem, tackling adaptive challenges is about making progress and acting experimentally.

Appreciative inquiry (AI) is a model that seeks to engage stakeholders in self-determined change. AI advocates collective inquiry into the best of what is, in order to imagine what could be, followed by collective design of a desired future state that is compelling and thus, does not require the use of incentives, coercion or persuasion for planned change to occur

see Business Activity Model

A measurable improvement in a measure resulting from an outcome perceived as an advantage by one or more stakeholders, which contributes towards one or more organisational objective(s).

A process that is concerned with the delivery of the predicted business benefits defined in a business case.

see cognitive bias

see Business System Definition

A conceptual model that shows the set of business activities that would be expected to be in place, given the business perspective from which it has been developed

The normal execution of operations within an organization.

The most important risk during change is to business ocntinuity, ensuring that before and after change the business continues to work effectively.

A definition of a desired future state to be achieved by a change.

The actual events, activities and steps tha can be put into a diary or project plan. Compare with 'transition'

The role of anyone who, through intentional contact with thos engaged in the change process, provides an objective and supportive communication channel, facilitating the development and implementation of the change.

An adaption of the Kübler-Ross model, of five stages of grief, to more general change situations.

The factors driving the need for change. May be internal (capabilities, resources, inventions, dissatisfaction, desire) or external (competitors,customers, investors, technology, government)

The impacts on 'business as usual' of organisational change.

The elements of a change and its environment that can be activated in some way to enable or support adoption of the change on a broad scale.

See Organisational change management

An organisational role defined by knowledge of, and competence in, change management

Concerned with preparing the organisation for the changes it is facing. Includes both tangible aspects (such as IT systems, organisational structures) and intabgible aspects (such as cultural conditions)

A systematic pattern of deviation from rationality in judgement, whereby inferences about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion. Individuals create their own subjective realisy from their perception of the inputs.

A skill or quality that am individual needs in order to perform his or her job effectively

When the people and systems operating in a new way achieve unstoppable momentum.

A measurable degradation in a measure resulting from an outcome perceived as an disadvantage by one or more stakeholders, which detracts from one or more organisational objective(s).

In Lewin's model of change, driving forces are forces that support the change.

Change that may have been spontaneously initiatiated in many areas of the organisation. It is based on an assumption that change is a continuous, open-ended and unpredicatable process of aligning and realigning an organisation to its changing environment. Often approached in a 'bottom up' manner. Compare with 'planned change'.

A supporting technique to the persona, that helps to devise stronger strategies for engaging with such groups. It describes what the persona: thinks and feels; sees and hears; says and does; gains and pains.

The act of planning and managing a group meeting so that it achieves its objectives in a timely and effective manner.

A technique that considers the forces inside and outside the organisation that will support adoption of a change or oppose it.

The comparison of two views of a business system, the current 'as is' view and the desired 'to be' view.

The consideration fo the impact a proposed change will have on a business system and on the people working within it

Mental models of the way we think about organisations

A theoretical construct used to explain behaviour. It represents the reasons for people's actions, desires and needs.

A frameworek for managing the effect of new business processes, changes in organisational structures or cultural changes within an enterprise. Addresses the people side of change.

A system of shared assumptions, values and beliefs, which governs how people behave in an organisation.

The social role or character played by an actor. A representation of a stakeholder that can deepen understanding of the stakeholder's goals and needs, to better shape engagement strategies and messages in a way that is more likely to influence them.

Change that is deliberate and structured, with clean boundaries and definable benefits, and a vision for the future. Often approached in a 'top down' manner. Compare with 'emergent change'.

The action taken by individuals or groups when they perceive that a change that is occuring is a threat to them. The threat may not be real or large for resistance to occur.

In Lewin's model of change, restraining forces are forces that work against the change.

A pictorial technique offering a free-format approach that allows analysts to document whatever is of ionterest or significance in the business situation.

A technique used to elicit, analyse and validate requirements. A scenario will trace the course of a transaction from an initial business trigger through each of the steps needed to achieve a successful outcome

A senior person in an organisation who is accountable for delivering the benefits from a business change. The sponsor is also responsiuble for providing resources to the project team.

An individual, group of individuals or organisation with an interest in a change.

A process used to engage relevent stakeholders in consultation and involvement in the definition and delivery of a change, to achieve acceptable outcomes.

A diagramming technique that maps stakeholders according to their segment and their desire level of engagement.

The director and scope of an organisation over the longer term. Strategy is defined in order to achieve the objectives of the organisation through its configuration of resources within a changing business environment. The strategy also needs to fulfil stakeholder expectations.

A management discipline concerned with seeking an understanding of a system by examining the linkages and interactions between the components that comprise the entirety of that defined system.

The moment of critical mass. The moment that a change has a momentunm of its own

The human, psychological process of letting go of one pattern and engaging with a new one. Compare with 'change'.

A picture of thr future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future.