The Art and Science of Creating Change
by Peter McLaughlin and Peter McLaughlin, Jr.

January is one of my favorite months, because it’s a ritual time for resolutions and positive change. In fact, the month of January is named after the ancient Roman god Janus, who is known as the god of new beginnings. Artists depict Janus with an interesting symbol: a head with two faces looking in opposite directions. One face looks to the past, representing the act of reflecting on previous experiences, reviewing progress, and taking stock of your position in life. The other face looks to the future, symbolizing the practice of planning new ventures and pursuing new visions of the future.

The symbol of Janus is an apt metaphor for successful transformation. The activities it represents – reflection, assessment, imagination, planning, and bold action – are proven drivers of winning change initiatives. And "winning" is the operative word here, because most change efforts fail, whether you're talking about a middle-aged man committing to get physically fit, or a sales professional deciding to double her sales productivity, or a 2,000-employee business restructuring its operations.

Taking a cue from Janus, I’ve found it useful to break down the process of change into two main categories: the art of change and the science of change. The art of change is the “right brain” side of transformation. It involves building up emotional commitment and courage, abolishing self-limiting attitudes or beliefs, staying positive and persistent, and communicating with people who can provide advice and support.

The science of change is the “left brain” part of the process. It consists of typical business plan activities such as assessment, analysis, planning, and forecasting. The scientific part of change also includes creating smart accountability systems to monitor behavior as your project moves forward. The chart below details the most important steps for each part of the process.

Here's the crucial point: many change efforts fail, or achieve profoundly mediocre outcomes. Examples are numerous. Various studies have demonstrated that nearly nine out of ten people who go on a diet fail to achieve long-term weight loss. Approximately 80% of new businesses close their doors within five years. Roughly two-thirds of corporate reengineering projects fall far short of expectations. And New Year's resolutions? Experts say that the majority of resolutions bite the dust before six months pass, with many expiring before the end of January (which is undoubtedly a troubling statistic for old Janus).

To bypass the swamp of stalled initiatives and achieve your goals for positive change, you have to engage both sides of your brain (or both sides of your team's collective brain). This means you must enlist the artistic and scientific change strategies. It means you have to articulate an elevated and ennobling goal for your project, and follow a rigorously-conceived battle plan that holds you accountable for results. (And you must have the persistence to dive back in once you realize it’s necessary to change course, and the analytical skill to chart a new path…)

So do a quick audit of your plans for change and improvement. Have you framed your challenge to yourself or your team in a way that ignites a spirit of unstoppability? Have you designed an accountability system that applies positive pressure to perform? As you launch new beginnings at work and in your personal life, don't let poor preparation derail your efforts. Employ the art and science of change to achieve breakthrough results and happy endings.

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