Comments on: It’s Time to Abolish the 70% Change Failure Rate Statistic

By: jo

jo — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 15:27:09 +0000

There are 3 frequently used success criteria ie meeting original goals/business intent (aka benefits), meeting budget and meeting schedule. If the 3 success rates of these 3 success criteria are combined ie multiplied, do you think the product success rate will be low or high?

By: Colin Kennedy

Colin Kennedy — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 21:32:39 +0000

I’m yet to experience a change initiative that worked.

I’d also say that Kotter is a pretty reliable source – certainly far more so than ‘surveys’ and ‘studies’ by academics who aren’t on the coal face. So yes, I’d say that at 70% of transformations fail is fact.

By: Nene

Nene — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 02:11:30 +0000

As someone who has been on the receiving end of change initiatives or transformation programs in at least four organizations, my entirely experience based statistic is 100% – failure. I take the point that the oft-cited 70% has (apparently) no basis in fact. But I didn’t hear any counter stats offered. I guffawed at the part where “only 10% of executives said their change programs were completely/mostly unsuccessful”. Well what would you expect them to say? That they’ve wasted all that time, money, human sweat, for nothing? So no, it’s NOT “closer to a failure rate, in the truest sense of the term”. I’m all for evidence based stats. If industry practitioners want 70% to be retired maybe they could spend some effort to provide new stats. Surely that’s one change initiative they can all get behind.

By: Marc Mewe

Marc Mewe — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 17:40:06 +0000

What I miss in all the discussions about de 70% faillure rate is what is the definition of faillure.
For example, is a (change) project that exceded time and budget, but indeed reached the pre-defined objective a faillure ?
From a projectmanagers view I would say yes, but from a business view you could say , ok it took longer and ithe costs are higher than first expected, but we are where we wanted to be, so it is a succes.

Read for example the Dutch book “Het veranderboek” from Ten Have et all. They have a nice view on the 70% myth.

By: Garrett Gitchell

Garrett Gitchell — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 02:19:35 +0000

Kudos Heather and welcome to the club.
My own post in the 70%-is-bogus club from last year:
http://horizontalchange.com/2013/09/time-topple-bogus-70-statistic/.

My twist was encouraging (as Gail states above) clients to either run from anybody using that stat or play with them until they fold.

Change practitioners and ugh “thought leaders” have really gotten wrapped up in group think around this made up stat. For some it might be a little hard to back track now. Back track they need to though.

Change, especially big change as Gail also mentioned, moves in small incrementals and does not lend itself to blanket numbers. All engagements and initiatives fail and all succeed…

By: Heather Stagl

Heather Stagl — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 19:05:59 +0000

Gail, thank you for saying what I wish I had about the anecdotal evidence of long-time experts in the field. I certainly don’t mean to challenge their experience or to infer that their statements are untrue. Only that, as you say, they are neither statistics nor representative of all change.

By: Gail Severini

Gail Severini — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:10:58 +0000

Bravo, Heather. I am all for long-tenured practitioners stating their own anecdotal statistics – which is basically how Ken Blanchard, John Kotter and Daryl Conner come at it. Let’s face it tho, the work they are called in on is not your “run of the mill” transformational change. It is probably a BHAG at least. So while their comments are legit in context, they are neither statistics nor representative of all change.

Where I get really ticked off consultants or training companies using this statistics indiscriminately to scare prospects into buying, and into buying more than they need. In fact, I am increasingly suspicious of any one waving that flag.

Calling out this issue raises the bar on the work that all of us do and how we talk about it. Great post â€“ I will be sharing it.