Working On a Change Project & Buying a Home Have a Lot in Common

This past month I purchased my first home. In the beginning, I thought to myself, “This shouldn’t be too difficult; as easy as looking at houses and making an offer”.  Turns out… I was quite mistaken. Even after consuming hours of HGTV shows and online content. After sitting down and brainstorming a list of things I needed to complete before finally having that place to call my own, I realized this would be a major undertaking.

As I have gone through this process, I can’t help but see how much purchasing a home and moving have in common with change projects.

First, I laid out my timeline. From my current state of living in my rented apartment all the way up to being moved into a house of my own. I set a goal of a date to move in by; much like a “Go-Live” date of an organizational change project. Then began to list the milestones I needed to accomplish between now and the finish line.

I needed to determine what success would look like. What was changing? What made the end result better than the current state? I went about picking the ideal features, styles, appliances, locations, etc. Much like choosing what behaviors, processes, and tools would be in place at project completion. No item overlooked.

Next up was having and executing a plan. The steps and actions that needed to be completed on the way to closing (or go-live on a project). We got pre-approved for a loan, found a home we loved, put in an offer, negotiated until we had a signed acceptance, scheduled the necessary inspections and bank appraisal, and had a date set for closing. Similar to change projects, one slip-up could throw off the entire process resulting in delays or even failure of achieving the goal.

Last for us was to pack everything up and begin the moving process. I compared this part of the process to completing training and using continuous improvement in change projects. The majority of the work has been done, but to get everything in the right place and to ensure we stay happy with the result will take effort and adjustments going forward. Much like continuous improvement within an organization, this work leads to a greater sense of belonging and fewer reasons to leave. After all in business and in life, who wouldn’t want a forever home?

Looking to make your organization a place that successfully navigates change and adapts to thrive in the future?