We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature.
—Edmund Burke

We previously said that wherever there is change, there are forces driving it. Of course, the inverse is also true. Wherever there is a force, there will be change—eventually.

Just keep in mind that change may not happen instantly. There may be forces that restrain the change from happening. As the driving and restraining forces increase, the only change may be increased tension. Eventually something will happen that either redirects the driving force or the restraining force, thereby releasing the tension and effecting the change. In the study of the psychology of change, we do not say the forces simply disappear. A change in a force must be associated with a change of behavior—whether an action or a change in someone’s mind.

This principle can be used by the change leader to predict people’s behavior. The more the change leader understands the person or organization’s force field, the more accurately the change leader can predict the person’s behaviors, the changes that will have highest likelihood of success, and the forces that can act as levers to stimulate change.

Identify and map out the forces that are acting in the organization.

Classify the forces into “action” and “tension” categories, whereby the action category contains forces that are relatively uninhibited and, therefore, currently driving action; the tension category contains forces and sources of tension in the organization, where no action is currently happening.

Develop possible scenarios of where actions may lead and how tensions may be relieved.

Identify events that could trigger change.

Use this map of the force field to identify opportunities to help your customer and to develop a strategy for seizing them.

Identify forces. Predict resulting changes. Identify opportunities for adding value before, during, or after the changes..