You have a choice of instruments to → motivate your people to embrace change. Performance-incentive levers are especially useful in driving those who lack direction or initiative. You may also encourage employee → feedback on where and how the company can take corrective action and reward employees for their contribution. In any case, "once you open the gates and encourage employees to serve as agents of change, you must demonstrate that their input will have a real-world impact on the way your company does business," advises Mark Stevens, the author of Extreme Management.

On the other side, you have to be rather aggressive when dealing with people who view change as a threat and create roadblocks that stall progress. Anyone who thinks that it's harmless to make exceptions for a few people and shift resources to accommodate poor performers is missing an important point. "It's not a few people who are at stake, it's the → corporate culture", says Miles Greer, of Savannah Electric. "By permitting those who resist or retaliate against change to remain in the company, you broadcast a message that suggests supporting the company's mission statement is optional. Even worse, you permit the least-committed employees to taint and influence the → attitude and performance of their peers."