Traditional change approaches are often still managed in a way that assumes ideal conditions on the ground, but that is not the way business actually works. Organizations are inherently complex, messy and not always ready to change. In other words, change initiatives are either coming up against a culture of: “Why fix what is not broken?” or “Stop! We’re already overloaded!”

Yet time and time again, leaders take it for granted that

• Teams already have the time, resources, knowledge and bandwidth to seamlessly adopt new ways of working.
• People can just need to “get with the programme” with change without creating the right environment for change to succeed.

Leaders ignoring the reality that most teams are already stretched too thin forces project teams to strip back their efforts to the basic minimum, rather than delivering sustainable execution.

That’s why we do things differently. At Changentum, we focus not on change management but change leadership. This is about establishing a Change Operating System which makes available the appropriate resources and creates the environment that is conducive to successful change. Rather than adding more admin to an already busy organization, we help change leaders create their own structured, lightweight systems and processes that unleash capacity, and enable change to deliver results.

Here’s how: 

Change Must Be Built into the Operating System of the Business

Most change efforts fail because they operate outside of daily business processes. But any changes have to build on the current foundations within the organization and be embedded into the way people work.

Instead of adding more layers of admin, the right approach enables faster understanding and adoption. It also removes friction and unleashes execution capacity, because people are being introduced to a more advanced way of implementing the principles of what they already know.

A few prerequisites of a Change Operating System include:

• Clear leadership sponsorship, so teams get the guidance and support needed to execute change.
• Processes that adapt to how teams actually work, not a rigid, one-size-fits-all framework.
• Accountability is built into governance, not just leadership messaging.

The 3P-O Framework: A Practical Way to Make Change Stick

The Change Operating System we use with our clients at Changentum is the 3P-O Framework, a system designed to ensure teams can structure, learn, adopt, and adapt as they work their way through change. 3P-O stands for:

• Planning: Align leadership first, assess capacity, and set realistic change objectives.
• Processes: Make change a natural part of existing workflows and build new capabilities on those foundations.
• People: Equip teams with the tools, autonomy, and leadership support to empower them to deliver the change with a sense of empowerment and purpose.
• Outcomes: Define and measure the high level success metrics from start to finish so that results are tangible and impactful in the business.

💡 The result? Organizational and individual change-readiness which doesn’t feel random or unpredictable; it’s an adaptable, forward-looking, and natural way of working.

Change Never Starts with a Blank Slate—So Stop Managing It Like It Does

Most change methodologies assume an ideal environment where everyone has:

• Full leadership alignment from day one
• No competing priorities, i.e. with other urgent and important change initiatives
• Sufficient time and resources to focus on change

That’s actually never the case.

Teams are already overloaded and nobody is sitting there waiting for your change initiative to land on their desk. At the same time, leaders are following their own agendas and organizational priorities which are sometimes wildly conflicting.

This is the reality of change: messy, unpredictable, disorganized environments where people are doing their best, but are hopelessly overloaded.

💡 The Fix: Instead of forcing change into a rigid model, organizations need a flexible, modular Change Operating System that works within real-world constraints.

So, How Do You Make Change Stick?

🚫 No more assuming organizations start from a blank slate.
🚫 No more treating change as an “extra project” instead of an embedded way of working.
🚫 No more disengaged teams struggling with unrealistic execution plans.

Change sticks when it’s built into the organization’s daily rhythm—not treated as a one-time initiative.

📅 Schedule a Call to build a practical, structured change system that works.