Compass Diagnostics · CHANGE & TRANSFORM

Assess Change Readiness

Transformations rarely fail on the design. They fail because the organization was not ready to carry it. This instrument rates the four forces that decide whether a change moves — and returns a readiness summary with the first moves in order.

Readiness is not enthusiasm. It is the arithmetic of four forces, and three of them multiply.

Gleicher's Formula states the condition plainly: dissatisfaction with today, a vision of the future state, and credible first steps must together exceed the resistance already in the system. Because the first three multiply, any one of them near zero collapses readiness — no matter how strong the other two are.

This is stage two of the transformation record: the Charter names the change, and this instrument establishes whether the organization can carry it before a date is committed publicly.

The Four Forces

  1. D

    Dissatisfaction with today

    Carries the change

    Is the cost of staying the same named, shared, and felt?

    • The cost of leaving the current way of operating in place is quantified, not just discussed.
    • Leaders across functions describe the same problem in roughly the same words.
    • The case for change rests on evidence people trust, not on a leader's conviction.

  2. V

    Vision of the future state

    Carries the change

    Can people describe how the organization will operate when this is done?

    • The future state is described as how the work will operate, not as a set of goals.
    • Each affected group can say what changes for them and why it is better.
    • What is explicitly not changing is as clear as what is.

  3. F

    First steps that are real

    Carries the change

    Does the first ninety days exist as owned, dated work?

    • The first ninety days is a sequenced set of moves with dates, not a list of intentions.
    • Every early move has a single named owner with the authority to make it happen.
    • A standing review cadence already exists where progress will be seen and corrected.

  4. R

    Resistance and load

    Works against the change

    What will push back, and how much change is already in flight?

    • The organization is already carrying more change than it can absorb.
    • Influential people lose standing, control, or comfort if this succeeds.
    • Past change efforts here were announced and then quietly abandoned.

How the Summary Is Banded

Readiness bands and what each position means
BandScoreVerdictWhat it means
Ready to mobilize75 – 100The forces carry the changeDissatisfaction, vision, and first steps all exceed the resistance in the system. Start, and protect the cadence.
Conditionally ready50 – 74One force is thinThe change can begin, but a single weak force will decide the outcome. Close it before the first commitment is made public.
Not yet ready25 – 49Resistance outweighs momentumAnnouncing now spends credibility you will need later. Build the missing force first — it is faster than recovering from a stall.
Stalled before the start0 – 24The preconditions are absentThere is no shared case, no operating picture of the future, or no real first step. Architect those before any transformation is named.

Run the Questionnaire

Instrument · Assess Change Readiness

Will this change carry, or will it stall?

Twelve statements. Rate each one as the organization operates today — not as it is intended to operate. The summary is generated for you as you answer.

0 of 12 statements rated

  1. Dissatisfaction with today

    Is the cost of staying the same named, shared, and felt?

    The cost of leaving the current way of operating in place is quantified, not just discussed.
    Leaders across functions describe the same problem in roughly the same words.
    The case for change rests on evidence people trust, not on a leader's conviction.

  2. Vision of the future state

    Can people describe how the organization will operate when this is done?

    The future state is described as how the work will operate, not as a set of goals.
    Each affected group can say what changes for them and why it is better.
    What is explicitly not changing is as clear as what is.

  3. First steps that are real

    Does the first ninety days exist as owned, dated work?

    The first ninety days is a sequenced set of moves with dates, not a list of intentions.
    Every early move has a single named owner with the authority to make it happen.
    A standing review cadence already exists where progress will be seen and corrected.

  4. Resistance and load

    Resistance — lower is better

    What will push back, and how much change is already in flight?

    The organization is already carrying more change than it can absorb.
    Influential people lose standing, control, or comfort if this succeeds.
    Past change efforts here were announced and then quietly abandoned.

Your readiness summary

Rate each statement as the organization operates today — not as it is intended to operate.

Compass architects how organizations operate and equips leaders to sustain that architecture. This is a management instrument, not legal, audit, or personnel advice. Answers stay in the browser that created them until you choose to share the summary. Twelve statements · 12 rated inputs.

Where this leads

Readiness tells you whether the change can be carried. The repair is architectural: CHANGE & TRANSFORM sets the five decision gates the work must pass, and the Project Charter records what was committed.

CHANGE & TRANSFORM — the five decision gatesProject Charter and the ARC™ instruments

The next step

Read the summary with the people who will carry the change.

A confidential, facilitated read of your readiness summary and the sequence it implies.

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