---
id: "prereq-change-management-basics"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["§ The False Alignment Trap"]
tags: ["foundational-knowledge"]
related: ["concept-false-alignment"]
reason: "The text assumes the reader understands what a 'transformation program' or 'reengineering effort' entails, including workstreams, cost-reduction targets, and go-to-market models."
sources: ["governance"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-governance"
originDay: 7
articleStem: "hbr-cl-85-false-alignment-trap"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/07/the-false-alignment-trap"
sourceTitle: "The False Alignment Trap"
---
# Basic Change Management Principles

**Why it's needed:** The text assumes the reader understands what a 'transformation program' or 'reengineering effort' entails — including workstreams, cost-reduction targets, and go-to-market models.

To fully grasp the stakes of the article, the reader must understand that corporate transformations are **massive, multi-year efforts** involving reorgs, budget cuts, and strategic pivots, requiring immense coordination across thousands of employees. Without this frame, the danger of [[concept-false-alignment|false alignment]] and the scale of its consequences ([[concept-change-paralysis|paralysis]], [[concept-change-hyperactivity|hyperactivity]], [[concept-change-tunnel-vision|tunnel vision]]) are easy to underestimate.