In the world of delivery, you often measure success by scope, timeline, and budget. These are the classic pillars of project management, and for good reason. Over time, you begin to realize there is a fourth pillar that matters just as much: adoption.
Behind every well-executed ERP implementation is a balance between two equally critical forces: Project Management and Organizational Change Management. One keeps the work structured and progressing. The other ensures your people are ready, willing, and able to make the leap. When both are strong, the project succeeds. When one lags, cracks start to show. Tim Creasey captured this well by saying, “Project Management prepares the solution for the organization. Change Management prepares the organization for the solution.”
You may not learn this in theory. You may discover it during your first NetSuite implementation. Perhaps you are on the client side, brand new to ERP delivery, and responsible not only for managing the project plan but also for helping your entire organization prepare for a major shift. Leading a project of that scale can feel daunting. Leading the people side of change at the same time can feel overwhelming.
So you do what most delivery professionals do when you find yourself in deep waters. You become resourceful. You look for guidance from a change management mentor and begin crafting a plan that runs alongside your project plan, one grounded in structure, communication, and empathy.
You may have never led an ERP implementation before, or a formal change management effort. Your dedication comes from a genuine desire to help your team not only survive the change but also feel equipped and possibly even excited to move through it.
Change is inevitable. It is one of the few constants you can count on. Yet it is often resisted, especially at work. It is easy to see change as disruptive or threatening. With time, you begin to understand that change is actually one of your greatest opportunities. It offers a chance to grow, to collaborate, to improve how you work, and to find meaning in the process.
Embracing change does not happen by chance. It happens when people feel heard and informed. When your team members are consulted, invited to share feedback, or encouraged to offer ideas in the context of an upcoming change, they are far more likely to feel a sense of ownership. That is where buy-in begins, and sometimes it is even where inspiration begins.
One of the most compelling statistics from Prosci’s research shows that projects with active and visible executive sponsorship are seven times more likely to meet or exceed their objectives. This is not just a data point. It is a reminder that people want to know what their leaders think, what they value, and whether they support the people doing the work. Consistent presence through messaging, shared information, and open communication can shift the entire experience.
During your early implementation experience, you may also realize something more is needed. You may understand change management frameworks, yet still feel drawn to support the emotional side of change more intentionally. This curiosity can lead you to explore mindfulness as a complement to the traditional OCM approach.
With support from mentors such as Wendy Quan, founder of The Calm Monkey, you might design a mindfulness program to help your team navigate the stages of change through a more grounded and self-aware lens. You align this work to Prosci’s ADKAR model, which includes Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement. You use mindful reflection as a tool to move through these stages with greater clarity and compassion.
You soon learn that change is not linear. Teams do not simply progress from Awareness to Reinforcement. A new announcement, challenge, or shift in direction can send people backward. Mindfulness provides support for those moments by encouraging grace and acceptance. Resistance becomes feedback expressed through frustration, as your OCM mentor may have described it.
When you listen through that lens, you can respond with empathy instead of defensiveness. Sometimes, simply being heard is enough for someone to move forward.
As a project manager, you stay focused on scope, timeline, and budget. As a human, you learn to pay equally close attention to how people feel during change. Feelings act as signals. They shape perception, and perception often determines whether someone chooses to adopt a new way of working.
Feelings cannot be configured or migrated. They are the part of transformation that remains entirely and beautifully human.
At LUXENT, your belief reflects what is true about every change journey. There is light in each person, and that light is needed to illuminate the path to enterprise-level success. When you honor both the process and the people, you create space for more than delivery. You create space for lasting transformation.