Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
—Thomas Edison

The third stage of change actuation is actually making the change. This stage is accompanied by the following processes.

Confusion

Once action begins, people ask all the questions. Who’s on first? Who’s on second? What did we say we were going to do about this? How are we doing that?

Rebirth

This is the step of creating the new state. The new house must be built before the family can be moved out of the old house. As the new house is built, as the change takes shape, the new state comes to life. The emptiness associated with the end of the status quo is replaced by a new situation that is, well, actually refreshing.

Moving On

The game was finally afoot—now, it is finally over. People have settled into the new house. Just as there was an acceptance of the end of the current situation, there is now acceptance of the new situation.

The change leader needs to be cautious regarding a potential pothole that could trip up the change process. Lewin cites research that shows people tend to slow down as they reach a goal. Before the change process starts, the person is stationary. Then the person decides to make the change and steps into the starting blocks like a sprinter. Something triggers actuation and the person gets off to a good start. But as the finish line gets closer, the person slows down. Apparently, the farther away people are from a goal, the harder they feel they have to work. The closer they are, the less they feel they have to work.

Lewin and Maslow both talk about how once a person achieves a goal, the person is not satisfied. The goal the person had longed for so much creates an empty feeling once it is achieved. The person immediately feels unsatisfied and sets another goal.
Make sure the client completely achieves the present goal before he moves on!

Be extremely well-organized and systematic during this stage. Err on overcommunicating status and progress. Don’t let up your effort until the last detail has been completed.