4. Change Management
Adoption sequence (ADKAR)
The individual's journey through change
ADKAR is a registered trademark of Prosci, Inc., used here to identify the model. No affiliation or endorsement.
Use when
Planning and debugging adoption for any initiative
- 1
Awareness
Why the change, why now; heard from leaders
- 2
Desire
What's in it for me answered honestly, incl. the hard parts
- 3
Knowledge
How to do the new thing; training lives here only
- 4
Ability
Practice, time, support to do it for real
- 5
Reinforcement
Recognition, measures, systems that hold the new state
“Fix the first broken letter, not the loudest.”
How to use it
ADKAR's power is as a diagnostic: adoption stalls at the first missing element, and training (Knowledge) is answer three, not answer one. Most failed change spent its budget on K while A and D were never established.
Card details
- Model type
- Sequence
- Origin status
- Established
- Content last reviewed
- 28 July 2026
Origin
EstablishedJeff Hiatt, Prosci. ADKAR is a registered trademark of Prosci Inc., used descriptively.