Throughout history various cultures have utilized the Wheel as a metaphor for change or transformation. In Medieval times there was the Wheel of Life that illustrated the transformation through loss and suffering to happiness. The Buddhists still use a Wheel of Samsara to depict their Path to Transmigration or Enlightenment. The Chinese have the I Ching, the Book of Change which uses the circle is one of the patterns in its practice. As seen, the wheel has long been associated with change and transformation because it is a good way of illustrating that change is constant and ongoing. The Wheel turns bring you to a different stage then turns again and again.
Change is constant in our lives, though most of us do not think about it. The sun rises, and then it sets. It is hot one day, cool the next. We wake in the morning, move from home to work then return home and go to bed. We change ingredients into meals or move from home to a restaurant. We go through the stages of birth through death and multiple other changes as we pass through our lives. Most of the time, we never realize that change is occurring and that we are reacting to it. We grab an umbrella if it rains, or put on sunscreen if it’s sunny. Change only becomes an issue if it is coupled with the unknown or the loss of something. Organizational Change often encompasses both these elements. People fear the loss of routine, the knowledge of their jobs, the security of their place and even the security of their livelihood. This is the challenge of Change Management and often is its greatest point of failure. Change Management would be easy if it was just a case of identifying a future state and mapping out how to reach that state. Instead Change Management comes up against the human element and their fears of loss. If this is not handled well, the whole change initiative is likely to fail.
Three key elements needed to successfully negotiate an Organizational Change are Communications,
