Managing change    

Think of strategy as deciding on the change that is necessary within your organization to move it from where it is to where it needs to be.  Once the strategy is chosen, it must be supported by an action plan to implement the necessary change, or it won't become a reality.

Implementing strategy often causes fundamental shifts in the way the organization operates and sees itself.  This affects the people within the organization to one degree or another and if this isn't anticipated and managed properly, it will be difficult to make the necessary changes.

Staff, including managers, tend to have a vested interest in the status quo because it is known and it's what got them to where they are today.  People naturally fear the unknown, preferring 'the devil they know to the angel they don't know'.  Even if they sense the anticipated change may be good for the organization, if they are not confident of surviving the change with all their status, pay and privileges intact, they will often rebel against it.

Because of this natural resistance to change, managers and other staff are usually not able to see or acknowledge the problems the status quo is creating for the organization.  They are not sufficiently objective to see the problems or help devise possible solutions.

This is why organizations hire outside consultants to help address problems the organization is experiencing with the current situation, whatever it may be.