Since the seminal work of John Kotter, Leading Change, (1996), the topic of organization change has inspired the writing of thousands of books, articles and courses. With some variation on the theme, most leaders and researchers in the field of change management believe that at least four conditions must be in place before employees will change their behavior.   Emily Lawson and Colin Price in, "The Psychology of Change Management," identified the four basic conditions that are now widely accepted. Those conditions include:   telling a compelling story about the need for change; role modeling the new way by the leaders and other respected employees; reinforcing mechanisms, so that systems, processes and incentives are in line with the new behavior; and capability building, so that employees have the necessary skills to make the changes.  

The successful change management implementations that I have been part of always take at least these four conditions into account. The conditions are well grounded, well researched and rational. Leaders and managers find the conditions inherently appealing and often conclude that putting them in place just requires good common sense. Unfortunately, the common sense approach too often takes the leaders down a wrong path.

Aubrey C. Daniels, one of the world's foremost authorities on management and human performance, points out the dangers of the use of common sense knowledge as a management tool in his book, "Bringing out the Best in People." He expresses the following concerns:   "Common sense knowledge is based on the unreflective opinions of ordinary people....Those unreflective opinions are very individual in nature, so what is common sense for one person is not for another....Unreflective opinions lack any scientific validation or proof....Common sense cannot be counted on to produce consistent results."    

So, if not common sense, then what really works to put the four conditions in place effectively? Be willing to put effort into studying the science of behavior analysis so that you understand what motivates employees to change behavior and sustain it.   Apply the learning to the change plan. Consider ways for the employees to experience benefits of the change from day one.   Reinforce the new behaviors much more than you think necessary. In particular, reinforce employees' attempts to change.   Gain an understanding of Appreciative Inquiry to help build a compelling story that contains both negative and positive aspects of the change.

In conclusion, management by commonsense is not management at all. Knowing that every organizational accomplishment is dependent on behavior is where management begins. Believing that the science of human behavior is the one thing that leaders and managers should know the most about in order to build a management system with staying power is downright liberating.