Sweeping Change & Ripple Implications
Today on my lake walk, I spotted a person cleaning his patio deck; the movement of his arms captured my attention. As I approached, I could see he lived on the second level. As I got closer, I could see all the debris and leaves fall from his deck with every sweeping movement and fall down below into the fenced area of the occupant below. As I walked past, a thought surfaced. How might one need to consider ripple implications to an action/decision/change?
I pondered this as I strolled by. Perhaps if this individual considered a few questions, it might ensure no ripple implications, such as potential friction from the occupant below.
Transitioning this thought on my walk, I began to think about leaders and organizations. What are your favorite questions to help yourself and others consider change implications, etc.? Some which surfaced today were:


- Who might be impacted by this change?
- What part of your strategy is the change meant to directly impact?
- Will this change have a ripple effect on any other people, departments, processes, etc.?
- Are there any systems, products or processes that need to be modified as a result of this change?
- What people or technology changes need to be made?
- What else might be competing with this change initiative that could derail or cause resistance?
- “Angie worked hard to support the development of a learning programme and worked closely with both the sponsors and myself to ensure a successful delivery. I found her to be enthusiastic with lots of ideas and materials to offer for the topics at hand. She was instrumental in providing learning materials for our collaboration area. All in all, I don’t think the kick off of the learning programme and event would have been as successful without her input.”Lucy Sell
HR Engagement Partner
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