Goodwill is the currency of successful change

Although we typically associate the goal of "goodwill" with public relations, advertising and marketing practitioners, change sponsors would do well to make this a critical success factor (CSF) for their next large-scale change.

Take a look at any U.S. currency: This note is legal tender for all debts public and private.

Like currency, goodwill can be earned, invested, lost, stolen, or squandered.

And nowhere is your organization's goodwill at greater risk -- and your debt to stakeholders greater -- than when you launch large-scale change.

How can you build goodwill?

• Capture and promote stakeholder success stories as told by the people directly involved.

• Manage an active rewards and recognition program, and don't skimp on the recognition which is often a greater factor in ESAT and CSAT than the reward.

• Acknowledge completion of every milestone of your change initiative.

• Communicate when the change is complete, what goals were achieved, lessons learned, and what actions can be taken to make the next change more effective.

With pre-launch planning, you can build long-lasting goodwill before, during, and after the change.