I’m off for a two day planning session where a consulting team will be meeting with the people who will later have to implement the proposed strategy. It was fortuitous that I read of an innovation lab that had some effective ways of measuring how much change people were ready for. You can find more about the Center for Youth Ministry here. Much of what they are saying applies to any organization dealing with change.

These were the things they are measuring on a continuum to try to assess how ready a group or organization is for change. In each case, the word on the left means not ready and the one on the right indicates readiness:

The mindset:

Fearful ______________ RISK RESPONSE ___________________Hopeful

Closed ________________INPUT_________________________Open

Survival ________________VISION ___________________Fulfilling the mission

The Structure:

Closed ________________ENVIRONMENT________________Playful

Bureaucratic____________COMPOSITION ___________________Adaptable

The Relationships

Isolated_______________CONNECTIVITY __________________Interwoven

Suspicious_________________BONDS ____________________Trusting

The Habits

Delaying _______________IMPLEMENTATION _______________Enacting

Reactive ________________Experimentation _______________Proactive

Good food for thought here for any organization. The Center offer testing and analysis which could be useful in a range of situations.