The most costly phrase in any change programme

Sound familiar? A project team is brimming with energy. The idea is well-defined, the business case is solid, and the initial blueprints are ready. Everyone wants to move forward. And then comes that one phrase that we at Restless Minds can see coming a mile off:

“We’ll sort out the communication later.”

Yet a great deal of preparatory work usually takes place: business analyses are underway, and discussions are being held with stakeholders. But is that enough? Talking to stakeholders mustn’t just become a tick on a list. The question isn’t whether those discussions took place, but what they’ve achieved: is everyone on board at this stage? Is there a genuine mandate to proceed, and is there broad support for this change?

To many, it still sounds perfectly logical: first work out everything from A to Z (or at least as far as M) and get it ready for launch. Then explain what’s going to change. But in practice, this is one of the most costly decisions a change programme can make. The bill only comes later, when making adjustments is no longer free.

What quietly goes wrong whilst you’re building, mapping out and developing

Whilst the project team throws itself wholeheartedly into mapping out plans and developing the solution, something invisible is happening: an information gap is emerging. Not because anyone is doing anything wrong, but because no one is steering the narrative. And that gap fills itself.

People who don’t know what’s going on will make up their own stories. They interpret silence, link rumours to previous reorganisations and draw conclusions based on limited information. So by the time you’re ready to launch, a narrative has already taken shape. Just not the one you wanted to tell.

That is the core of our vision: lasting change starts with people. Not with the product, not with the architecture, not with the roadmap. If people aren’t involved in understanding the ‘why’, there is no foundation to build on. No matter how good the solution itself may be.

Communication is a bespoke process

There is a second problem, and it is perhaps even more insidious than the first. Communication that is prepared in a corner after the fact is, by definition, generic. It is written by people who have indeed been through the construction process, not by people who know how the target audience feels about it, what will reassure them, or what question first springs to mind at the coffee machine.

The result: a message that is technically correct but fails to address what the target audience really needs to get on board. No bespoke approach, no sensitivity, no scope to test in advance whether the narrative will resonate. You communicate what is changing, not why it is relevant to them. And that is precisely the difference between a change that looks good on paper and one that is actually embraced.

The moment when making adjustments suddenly costs money

Every project has a tipping point. As long as you’re still at the drawing board, making adjustments is relatively straightforward: a discussion, a tweak, a different approach. Once you launch, that changes. Then, making adjustments costs not only time, but also trust. And that’s harder to rebuild than a timeline.

Anyone who only starts communicating at the launch stage therefore misses precisely the moment when making adjustments is still relatively painless. Communication is not the end point of a process, but a way of picking up on signals along the way, understanding expectations and adjusting decisions.

Equally important: what the project team gains. Those who communicate from the outset do not have to justify their decisions afterwards. The team knows what’s going on, can adjust decisions as they go along, and avoids discussions and damage control later on. This not only creates greater support, but also brings greater peace of mind and conviction to carry on building.

Change without communication is chaos

This is not just a random statement at Restless Minds; it is a conviction. A good idea is a necessary condition for successful change, but it is never sufficient on its own. Without communication that evolves alongside the process, you are building something strong on a foundation that nobody has helped to lay.

So the question is not whether you should communicate. The question is: do you start doing so whilst there is still time to make adjustments, or only when all that’s left is to justify the process?

Restless Minds helps organisations to refine that key question and translate it into a narrative that evolves alongside the change from the very beginning. Not as a final piece, but as a driving force.