Our Approach
What is Lean Change Management?
A modern, feedback-driven alternative to traditional change management. Inspired by agile, lean startup, and design thinking, built for how organisations actually change.
Traditional change management was modelled after project management.
That means linear, step-by-step approaches. Big plans created in isolation and forced onto the organisation. Change treated as a control function where the goal is getting buy-in, managing resistance, and executing tasks on schedule.
Lean Change believes the opposite. We believe change is a participatory event. We invite people to co-create the change, use meaningful dialogue instead of broadcasts, experiment instead of executing rigid plans, rally people around purpose instead of fear, and treat people's response to change as valuable data, not something to overcome.
These aren't just ideas we talk about. Every tool, element, and practice in the Lean Change OS is built on them.
The 5 Universals of Change
5 Universals and 52 Philosophies designed to shift your perspective about change. It's not about either-or, it's about knowing when to use which approach.
Invite people to the party, ask them to dance, but let them opt out. The people affected by the change know best what the change should be and how to do it.
Organization, leadership, and people perspectives all matter. Diversity of thought and inclusion drive better outcomes than a sales pitch.
Use Lean Coffee, Open Spaces, and other dialogue practices to uncover what people need instead of broadcasting newsletters and scripted town halls at them.
Having difficult conversations earlier in the change leads to better results. Public, transparent feedback. Live.
Sometimes the goal is to learn, not execute tasks. Foster a safe-to-learn culture where your objective shifts between learning something and getting an outcome.
We craft experiments with hypotheses and measurements, then decide: pivot, pursue, or pause.
Rally people around a common purpose, knowing not everyone will come along instead of instilling fear and coercing people with 'change or else.'
Purpose-driven change outlasts urgency-driven change. Every time.
What you label 'resistance' is the natural response people have to change. That's the data you need to shape your change differently.
We get curious, not furious. There is no resistance mitigation plan, only signal and noise.
The Engine
Insights → Options → Experiments
The Lean Change Engine is how we move from understanding to action. It's not a process to follow, it's a cycle to help you figure out what to do next.
The Ecosystem
Actionable Inspiration for Exceptional Change Agents
Three interconnected systems that give you the perspective, process, and tools to navigate any change.
“Our Microsoft US Area Transformation Office is working together as a team to strengthen our change agility muscle by adding Lean Change Management to our collective business transformation toolkit. Thank you Jason Little for guiding us on this journey to learn about using experimentation, iteration, and co-creation as we lead change!”
Lean Change vs Prosci
How is Lean Change different from traditional change management?
Lean Change is based on the core premise that you cannot predict the future. The faster you iterate through the Lean Change Cycle, the faster you learn. The faster you learn, the more likely your change will be successful.
Change managers are servant leaders who facilitate change with an adaptable approach.
Change managers lead and control the change with a structured approach.
Lean Change has evolved based on real-world experience by agile and change practitioners and continues to evolve based on today's business landscape.
Prosci is research-based and was created in a pre-internet era when business disruption was low.
An agile approach starts at the beginning via co-creation. The goal is to discover what the right change is, at the right time, with the people affected.
An agile approach starts only at the execution phase. The goal is to execute change faster at people once the thinkers have decided what the change is and why it's important.
Encourages change managers to think and adapt based on their context.
Offers a standardized, phased-based set of pre-defined steps no matter the context.
Lean Change values resistance. It's data change agents use as valuable insights to adapt based on the current reality.
Create resistance mitigation plans and use newtonian force to overcome resisters.
Your change strategy evolves as you learn.
Your change strategy is static, and created by the thinkers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Lean Change
How does Lean Change Management differ from Prosci ADKAR?
Prosci ADKAR follows a linear, five-step model designed for predictable change. Lean Change is feedback-driven and iterative, designed for environments where change is continuous and plans need to adapt in real-time. Both are research-backed, but Lean Change evolved from practitioner experience managing complex, unpredictable transformations.
Can I use Lean Change Management alongside my existing framework?
Yes. Lean Change tools and practices are method agnostic. You can layer them into any existing framework. For example, if you're using Prosci's change management plan template, add a feedback loop by running quick stakeholder experiments before finalizing the plan. Or replace a traditional kickoff presentation with a Change Canvas session to surface assumptions early.
Does Lean Change Management work for large-scale enterprise transformations?
Yes. Lean Change is designed for the complexity of enterprise transformations. Instead of creating detailed plans for an entire multi-year initiative upfront, you validate assumptions through small experiments early. Rather than the traditional current state to transition to future state for the whole enterprise, Lean Change focuses on continuous iterations: what's in front of us now, and what's our goal for this week?
What's the difference between Lean Change Management and Agile Change Management?
Lean Change and agile share core principles: iterative, adaptive, and feedback-driven. We use lean to emphasize being as lightweight as possible and to distinguish from the many Agile Change offerings that emerged as agile became popular. Lean Change was built by practitioners embedded in agile environments who understand that agility means people co-creating change together, not executing plans faster with agile terminology.
How do you measure ROI and report progress with Lean Change?
Lean Change uses diagnostics and measurements rather than traditional ROI calculations. Diagnostics like system observations, stakeholder stories, and qualitative signals help you see evidence you're headed in the right direction and course-correct in real-time. This approach catches problems weeks or months earlier than waiting for milestone reports.
What skills do I need to learn to implement Lean Change?
Skills can be learned: facilitation, experiment design, feedback analysis. What matters more is your stance as a change practitioner. Are you there to implement plans, or help people navigate uncertainty? Do you see resistance as a problem to overcome, or valuable feedback? If you're curious, collaborative, and comfortable with ambiguity, you already have the foundation.