Linchpins: The Secret to Successful Change Lies in Your Company's Core
"Business success depends on strategy, team, and processes – and how successfully we connect them."
How to Ensure a Good Plan Doesn't Just Remain on Paper, But Actually Reaches Employees' Daily Operations
Change dies in silence.
Many companies make the same mistake: they spend time and resources developing a new strategy, but the solution gets stuck in management presentations.
The reality is that change doesn't live in documents, but in people's daily decisions and actions.
The key to success is what I call Organizational Linchpins. The term "linchpin" comes from the essential pin that holds a wheel on its axle; without it, the entire structure falls apart. In your company, Linchpins are those critical, people-centric connection points – specific roles and individuals – through which everything vital must flow: information, accountability, decisions, and collaboration.
📌 PART 1: What is a Linchpin and Why is it Critical?
The Linchpin concept identifies those specific employee roles and process points in your organization that act as the indispensable bridges between strategy and reality.
👥 Who are typical Linchpins?
- Sales Managers: The direct link between leadership's vision and the sales team's daily activities.
- Regional or Department Heads: The interpreters and implementers of strategy in a local context.
- Marketing and Communication Specialists: The "faces" of change in both internal and external communication.
- Key Tool Influencers (e.g., IT): Those on whom technical feasibility depends.
🔄 PART 2: A Simple 3-Step System for Working with Linchpins
Step 1: Mapping BEFORE the Decision
Before the final decision, ask yourself:
"Which three or four roles are INDISPENSABLE for this idea to work? Through whom must information flow, whose buy-in and practical actions do we need?"
Example: When implementing a new sales process, the Linchpins are: the IT Lead (technical side), the Sales Manager (securing team acceptance), and the active salespeople (creating the user experience).
Step 2: Explanation at 3 DIFFERENT LEVELS
Each Linchpin needs a conversation in their own language:
- To Leadership: Speak the language of strategy and results (growth, efficiency).
- To the Middle Manager (the Linchpin): Speak the language that solves their daily problems ("This will reduce the time you spend coordinating your sales team from 5 hours to 2 hours in the Monday meeting").
- To the Employee: Speak the language of specific actions ("With this new interface, you can create customer-ready price quotes in an instant")
Step 3: Rapid Iteration – "Test Before You Commit"
Don't launch into a full-scale implementation immediately. Choose a pilot project that covers 1-2 Linchpins.
Example: Test a new project tracking tool first in one region, involving the regional manager (Linchpin 1).
Set a clear timeframe – 2-4 months for major process changes. For testing smaller updates, 2-4 weeks is sufficient. Gather feedback directly from the Linchpins and adjust quickly.
⚠️ PART 3: What Happens if Linchpins are Ignored?
- Risk 1: Passive Resistance. A change initiated by top management is formally accepted, but the Linchpins do not carry it forward. Result: teams stick to old processes.
- Risk 2: Information Distortion. If a Linchpin doesn't understand the core of the change, the message becomes blurred or even incorrect as it's passed on.
- Risk 3: Misalignment Between Systems and People. Technology is adapted for the change, but people are not prepared for it – leading to tension and frustration.
✅Positive Example: When Microsoft restructured in 2014, they involved numerous middle managers (key Linchpins) in the early stages. This gave them a sense of ownership, ensured support, and accelerated implementation across the organization.
🎯 Summary: Changes don't die in a well-crafted plan, but on the implementation journey.
Successful change management is a disciplined activity centered on identifying, involving, and supporting your Organizational Linchpins. This shifts the focus from the question "What are we changing?" to "How will this change actually start working?"
📞 Connection to My Services
This Linchpin concept is an integral part of my organizational effectiveness and sales process audit. The audit helps you clearly map where these critical connection points are in your company and how to strengthen them to ensure both strategy execution and daily operations run smoothly.
📞 Contact: +372 5094 786
Author: Tarmo Riit, Strategy and Change Consultant. I help companies bring their strategic plans to life.