How do companies like Microsoft, Adobe, and Disney handle change? Let’s explore eight change management examples that show how companies make smooth transitions while keeping their employees happy.
What’s Coming Up
- Learn What Works Before You Lead Change
- 8 Change Management Examples
- How Personality Affects Change
- Use Success Stories to Drive Your Change
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Further Reading
Learn What Works Before You Lead Change
When your company needs to change, first examine what other companies have done. Their success stories demonstrate what works, give you an idea of short-term and long-term results, and reveal how to overcome employee resistance to change. From all that you can learn how to reach your desired outcomes and avoid common mistakes.
Case studies let you peek into what change management involves. It shows how other organizations solved similar problems, what timeline they considered appropriate, and how change management models like the ADKAR model work in real life.
To get the most from the eight change management examples we’re about to share, look deeper than just what happened – ask why things worked. What made this change successful? How did leaders handle worried employees? How did they monitor progress?
Is your team operating at its best? Find out with our free Team Dynamics Quiz. Get quick, insightful, and actionable results in just 2 minutes.
8 Change Management Examples
Let’s explore eight powerful change management examples across four key categories. Each example shows different approaches to handling major transitions:
- Technological change: How companies like Microsoft and Adobe adapted to digital transformation and new business models
- Organizational restructuring: How organizations like Disney-Pixar and IBM managed mergers, acquisitions, and complete business reinventions
- Cultural change: How Netflix and HubSpot transformed their company cultures to support growth and new business directions
- Crisis-driven change: How companies responded to unexpected challenges like the pandemic and market disruptions
These real-world examples offer practical lessons you can apply to your own change management process. They show that while each situation is unique, successful change initiatives share common elements: clear communication, employee focus, thoughtful planning, and leadership alignment.
Technological Change Examples: Digital Transformation Success Stories
Technology changes fast. Companies must keep up to stay competitive. These examples show how some businesses successfully implemented their technological changes.
1. Microsoft’s Cloud-First Shift
One of the most well-known change management examples comes from Microsoft, when CEO Satya Nadella moved the company from selling traditional software to offering cloud services. This big change needed new skills, new teams, and new ways of thinking.
Microsoft’s change approach included:
- Clear vision: Nadella consistently talked about their “cloud-first, mobile-first” plan.
- Culture change: The company moved from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” mindset.
- Team changes: Microsoft reorganized teams around cloud services.
- Training: The management team invested heavily in the training and development of employees.
- Early wins: The executive team made it a point to highlight early successes to build excitement.
The results? Microsoft’s stock value grew three times larger in five years. Employees were happier, too. The old software giant became a cloud leader.
2. Adobe’s Move to Subscriptions
Another good change management example is Adobe. It managed the switch from selling software packages to selling subscriptions (Creative Cloud). This change affected how the company developed products and generated revenue.
Adobe’s plan included:
- Step-by-step change: Adobe slowly introduced the new model while still supporting existing customers.
- Open communication: The company clearly explained the benefits for everyone.
- Employee training: Management ensured enough resources to teach their staff about the new business model.
- Customer help: The company showed users how to get the most from subscriptions.
Some customers didn’t like the change at first, but Adobe made it work. The company could now update products at any time instead of waiting for major releases, streamlining workflows. Its monthly income also became more stable and predictable – something the stock market tends to reward.
Organizational Restructuring Examples: Managing Major Transitions
Changing a company’s structure is hard. These examples show how companies successfully handled mergers, buyouts, and big organizational changes.
3. Disney-Pixar Joining Forces
When Disney bought Pixar in 2006, it faced a tricky challenge: how to integrate Pixar without compromising what made it special.
Disney’s approach focused on:
- Keeping Pixar’s culture: Disney made sure to let Pixar stay creative in its own way.
- Careful integration: The company only combined parts that made sense to combine (like the marketing departments).
- Leadership stability: The executive team ensured that they kept key Pixar leaders in place.
- Sharing knowledge: Disney opened its doors to Pixar’s creative methods, allowing them to influence Disney Animation.
This smart approach worked. Under Disney’s ownership, Pixar continued producing hit movies – and Disney’s own films improved by adopting Pixar’s creative processes.
4. IBM’s Constant Reinvention
Few companies have reinvented themselves as many times as IBM. Over the decades, it went from making computers to selling tech support to working on AI and cloud computing. Its long-term success teaches valuable lessons in change management.
IBM’s approach to organizational change management includes:
- Forward-thinking leaders: IBM is consistently looking ahead and anticipating industry shifts.
- Strategic selling: The executive team is willingly ending profitable businesses. When they no longer align with future goals and the vision, it’s time to exit.
- Smart buying: The company purchased companies that sped up transformation.
- Training investment: IBM’s management team made sure to equip employees with the needed skills.
- Change teams: IBM has dedicated people to manage transitions.
IBM knows when to let go of old products before they become outdated. This has helped them survive many technology shifts. They are often included as an exemplary change management example. Their management process for change offers lessons for any organization facing disruption.
Cultural Change Examples: Changing Company Values
One of the hardest but most rewarding changes is changing company culture. These examples show how organizations changed their core values and work styles.
5. Netflix’s Culture of Freedom and Responsibility
Netflix provides an excellent example of cultural change management. When it moved from mailing DVDs to streaming shows online, it changed its culture too. Netflix didn’t just change its business – it changed how people worked. The company introduced a new focus with its “freedom and responsibility” memo.
This culture change effort included:
- Clear culture guide: Netflix created a famous 125-slide deck that outlined its values.
- Radical honesty: The company encouraged direct feedback at all levels.
- High performer focus: Management was told to only keep the most effective employees.
- Removing rules: The management team stopped tracking vacation days and expense approvals.
- Decision freedom: Netflix’s executive team gave employees authority to make important choices.
This made Netflix stand out as a top change management example. It built one of the most admired company cultures in the tech industry. Its best people stayed while lower-performing staff left. This culture change helped the company attract top talent. It was also able to make faster choices when moving into producing original content and expanding globally.
6. HubSpot’s Culture Code Success
HubSpot is another example of a successful culture change. It created a “Culture Code” that transformed how the company worked. This code helped HubSpot grow from a tiny startup to a large public company.
HubSpot’s approach included:
- Public culture document: Hubspot created and shared its Culture Code deck with the world.
- HEART values: The executive team established the company’s core values. HEART stands for Humble, Empathetic, Adaptable, Remarkable, and Transparent.
- Results focus: Management judged work by what got done, not hours spent.
- Radical flexibility: Hubspot let employees work when and how they work best.
- Consistent reinforcement: The organization made cultural fit a key criterion for hiring and promotion.
The results were impressive. HubSpot consistently ranks as one of the best places to work and continues to receive high employee satisfaction scores. It grew from a small startup to a large company while maintaining its distinctive culture.
Crisis-Driven Change Examples: Responding to Urgent Problems
Sometimes, change is forced by outside events. These examples show how organizations successfully adapted to crises.
7. COVID-19 Pandemic Response Changes
The COVID-19 pandemic created enormous challenges, with no existing change management examples to draw on. Companies had to pivot to remote work almost overnight, repair broken supply chains, and rethink how they served customers – all in the midst of a global health crisis.
Successful organizations handled this by:
- Putting employee safety first: Making it clear that people matter most
- Speeding up technology adoption: Getting remote-work tools in place quickly
- Increasing communication: Sharing news more often across all company levels
- Emphasizing flexibility: Understanding the unique challenges employees faced
- Thinking long-term: Using the crisis to rethink future work models
Companies like Microsoft turned crisis into opportunity. It created remote work policies that remained in place after COVID-19. Its change management teams recognized that some changes could become lasting improvements.
8. Nokia’s Market Disruption Response
Nokia was once the world’s leading phone maker – but it failed when smartphones took over. So why include it in an article about successful change management? Nokia turned failure into success through its later reinvention as a network equipment provider.
Nokia’s comeback included:
- Honest assessment: Nokia’s management team admitted they failed in the smartphone market.
- Strategic focus: The organization concentrated its focus on network infrastructure, where they were strong.
- Smart acquisitions: The company bought Alcatel-Lucent to strengthen its position.
- Culture renewal: The management team built a more flexible, innovative organization.
- Leadership change: The executive team brought in new members with fresh perspectives.
This shows that even after failure, you can win with the right changes. Nokia became a leader in 5G networks after losing in smartphones.
How Personality Affects Change
When we look at the most successful change management examples, one factor is often overlooked. Yet it’s the key to turning average results into exceptional ones: understanding how different people react to change.
Smart companies understand that people matter in times of change. In fact, every example we’ve covered shows that focusing on employees is a critical driver of success.
Microsoft invested in training. Adobe clearly communicated the benefits to staff. Disney protected Pixar’s creative culture. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, a wide range of companies prioritized employee well-being and flexibility.
The key lesson is simple: change isn’t just about systems and processes. Every successful change management example includes a focus on people. And people react to change differently based on their personality type.
Personality and Change Reactions
Our personality research shows important patterns in how people respond to change:
- Analysts want logical reasons for change and care about efficiency. These personalities share the Intuitive and Thinking traits.
- Diplomats worry about how change will affect people and company values. Diplomats share the Intuitive and Feeling personality traits.
- Sentinels need stability and clear steps during transitions. They share the Observant and Judging personality traits.
- Explorers adapt quickly in the face of change but may lose interest if the process takes too long. These types share the Observant and Prospecting personality traits.
Want to understand your team better? See how your team’s personality makeup shapes your work in adaptive (or maladaptive) ways with our Team Assessments.
Good change management plans use these differences. When Microsoft moved to cloud services, they gave technical reasons appealing to Analysts. Their messages were also purpose-driven, aligning with Diplomats. Their plans included clear roadmaps, as appreciated by Sentinels. And they allowed for quick experiments, which Explorers tend to enjoy.
Use Success Stories to Drive Your Change
By studying these change management examples, you can find practical insights for your own organization. You’ll see how others adopted new technologies, restructured teams, or navigated sudden market shifts. Whether you’re addressing culture issues or external disruption, chances are another company has already shown the way.
Effective change management balances the technical and human sides. It combines project management with an understanding of human behavior – requiring leaders to manage both the tasks and the people affected by change.
The most successful organizations treat change management as both a science and an art. They follow clear processes while also applying thoughtful people strategies. By learning from these examples, you can make change more effective – and less painful – for your organization.
If you want to understand how different personalities on your team react to change, our Team Assessments are a great place to start. They’ll help you get to know your team members better and improve communication across the board, setting you up for successful change management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common types of organizational change?
The main types of organizational change include technology change (such as digital transformation), structural change (like reorganizations or mergers), culture change (shifting values and behaviors), strategy change (adopting new business models), and process change (improving workflows).
How long does a typical organizational change take?
It depends on the size of the change. Small process changes might take months. Major culture changes often require multiple years. Lasting change takes sustained effort over time.
How do you create a change management plan?
A strong change management plan includes a stakeholder analysis, a communication plan, a training strategy, resistance management efforts, success metrics, and a clear timeline. It should address both the technical and human aspects of change.