Executive Summary

In high-stakes environments, whether in the military or in the boardroom, change is inevitable. However, how change is implemented makes all the difference. Many organizations fail not because their ideas lack merit, but because their execution is rushed, disorganized, or disconnected from the realities of their people and operations.

Drawing on my leadership experience in the Army, one of the most effective frameworks I’ve carried into business leadership is the Crawl, Walk, Run approach. This methodology structures the deployment of complex projects and changes into three strategic phases: Crawl (planning and preparation), Walk (measured execution), and Run (full deployment and refinement).

This process provides a model for handling initiatives with discipline, foresight, and empathy. These are three ingredients often lacking in corporate change efforts. More importantly, it avoids the costly pitfalls of reactive leadership, misalignment, and cultural disruption.

This article explores how Crawl, Walk, Run offers leaders a proven way to achieve three outcomes essential to enterprise success:

1. Harnessing team intelligence through inclusive leadership

2. Ensuring sustainable progress with minimal disruption

3. Containing costs while maximizing cultural stability

Part 1: The Crawl Phase – Laying the Foundation for Intentional Change

Every successful initiative begins with a clear, informed strategy. The Crawl phase is where leaders must slow down and resist the urge to dive into execution before the groundwork is set. It may not be glamorous, but it is necessary.

In this phase, leaders should:

· Develop a comprehensive game plan. This involves outlining objectives, defining scope, identifying stakeholders, and creating a high-level roadmap. You do not need every detail yet, but you must articulate the “why,” “what,” and “who” before moving forward.

· Conduct a robust cost analysis. This includes more than just dollars. It also accounts for time, personnel bandwidth, cultural friction, and opportunity costs. Will your people have to deprioritize other work? Are there seasonal timing factors that affect deployment?

· Assess workforce preparedness. Are your people trained, resourced, and ready to support this initiative? If not, what training, education, or exposure is needed to build readiness?

· Evaluate cultural and organizational impacts. Even a minor process change can ripple through communication patterns, accountability structures, and morale. Leaders must ask: Will this strengthen or strain our culture?

· Engage stakeholders early. Gather feedback from team members across functions to understand how the initiative may affect them. This is the beginning of buy-in, not a one-time formality.

Think of the Crawl phase as reconnaissance. You are gathering intel, mapping the terrain, and checking the weather before launching an operation. Skipping this phase can result in costly missteps, both financial and cultural.

Part 2: The Walk Phase – Controlled Execution and Feedback Integration

Once a plan is in place and your team is prepared, the next stage is the Walk phase, a period of careful, controlled deployment. The goal is to test, refine, and build confidence before scaling broadly.

This phase includes:

· Incremental deployment. Rather than flipping a switch, roll out the change in stages. Begin with pilot teams or departments, giving yourself the opportunity to gather real-time data and adjust course.

· Structured feedback loops. Solicit input from the people most affected by the change. What is working? What is not? How is morale holding up? Leaders must take this feedback seriously. Dismissing it too early can lead to disengagement or resistance.

· Prioritization of adjustments. Based on feedback, triage the most critical issues and adjust accordingly. Lower-priority changes should be assigned timelines, but not ignored.

· Transparent communication. Let the entire organization know what is happening, why it is happening, and what to expect next. Ambiguity is the enemy of alignment.

· Begin offboarding of legacy systems or processes. As confidence grows in the new system, begin methodically phasing out the old. This creates mental and operational space for the new system to take root.

The Walk phase is where theory meets reality. It requires stamina, patience, and responsiveness. It is also where teams start to see progress and momentum begins to build. Most importantly, it signals to the organization that leadership is thoughtful, adaptive, and invested in the long-term health of the enterprise.

Part 3: The Run Phase – Full Implementation and Ongoing Optimization

Once your systems are tested, your people are onboard, and your plan has been refined, it is time for the Run phase. This is where full-scale implementation and post-launch stewardship take place.

This stage includes:

· Full deployment. The new system, process, or initiative becomes the standard operating model. Legacy systems are offboarded completely and expectations are aligned.

· Confirming cost and impact assumptions. Revisit your original cost-benefit analysis. Did the rollout go as planned? Were there unexpected efficiencies or challenges? This is your chance to validate your business case.

· Establishing long-term feedback and review loops. Even post-deployment, changes need upkeep. Build a rhythm for ongoing feedback, performance metrics, and periodic evaluations. Do not assume the job is done because deployment is complete.

· Systematic maintenance and iteration. Things will break. Needs will evolve. Teams will offer new suggestions. Build mechanisms to accommodate continuous improvement without reverting to chaos.

Think of the Run phase as your battle rhythm. It should be smooth, predictable, and capable of high performance. This level of consistency is only possible when the foundation has been laid and the team is aligned.

Three Key Outcomes of the Crawl, Walk, Run Method

1. Leveraging Team Intelligence Through Empowered Leadership

Too often, leaders believe they must carry the entire weight of decision-making. This mindset can lead to top-down rollouts that ignore the insights of those closest to the work. Crawl, Walk, Run encourages leaders to engage their teams throughout every phase including planning, testing, and optimizing.

When you give your team a seat at the table, they begin to own the outcome. They bring their operational knowledge, domain expertise, and lived experience to the initiative. In return, they lean on your leadership to frame the initiative in alignment with company values, mission, and strategy.

This two-way trust creates a dynamic, responsive leadership model. It is the opposite of “non-contributory leadership,” where decisions are made in silos and rolled out with minimal buy-in. Over time, it builds a culture where innovation is welcomed rather than feared.

2. Progress With Minimal Disruption

Every leader wants to drive progress, but doing so at the expense of operational stability is a recipe for chaos. Crawl, Walk, Run allows for progress that preserves equilibrium.

A classic example is the migration from one CRM system to another. On the surface, it may appear as a vendor change. Beneath that surface lies a web of workflows, data dependencies, user behaviors, and performance expectations. If deployed overnight without proper preparation, such a change can halt sales pipelines, confuse customer service teams, and compromise data integrity.

By applying the Crawl, Walk, Run framework, leaders can:

· Sequence the rollout to align with departmental readiness

· Empower local leaders to manage change within their teams

· Maintain performance throughout the transition

· Reduce cognitive overload for frontline staff

To borrow an analogy: if five people are rowing a boat at different speeds, the vessel spins in circles. But if those same five people row in sync, even at a moderate pace, the boat gains speed and stability. The same applies to your organization. Progress without harmony leads to friction. Harmony, even if slower, leads to real momentum.

3. Cost Suppression Through Strategic Redundancy

One of the misunderstood strengths of Crawl, Walk, Run is its ability to suppress costs. This is not achieved by avoiding investment, but by optimizing its impact.

Running parallel systems may seem duplicative and expensive. However, the cost of a workforce thrown into a new system with no preparation, no training, and no support is far greater. The result is predictable: errors, delays, turnover, and lost customer confidence.

Strategic redundancy is a form of risk mitigation. By maintaining both the old and new systems during a transition, leaders create a glide path. This allows for a smooth descent into the future rather than a hard crash landing.

The real cost advantage comes from:

· Avoiding downtime

· Preventing rework

· Preserving morale and retention

· Maintaining customer experience continuity

It is not about being overly cautious. It is about being disciplined and smart. In leadership, discipline consistently outperforms speed alone.

Conclusion: Discipline, Empathy, and Clarity in Leadership

Crawl, Walk, Run is not just a deployment strategy. It is a mindset. It reflects a belief that sustainable success comes from clarity of vision, discipline of execution, and empathy for the people doing the work.

In a world that rewards speed, this approach rewards intentionality. In environments where complexity is the norm, it offers structure. In organizations striving to evolve, it offers a roadmap that brings your people with you rather than leaving them behind.

If you are facing a major change or initiative, pause. Crawl before you walk. Walk before you run. When done right, this is not just a method for launching projects. It is a strategy for building trust, resilience, and excellence into the very fabric of your enterprise.