Evidence & References — Why Sustainment Matters

1. Frontline Fatigue & Drift Back to Old Habits

Claim: Sustaining improvements is often undermined by staff fatigue and drift back to prior workflows.

Takeaway: Post–go-live sustainment must reduce burden, reinforce new practices, and visibly close the loop.

References

• Prosci. “Overcome and Prevent Change Fatigue.” Prosci Research & Insights, 2024. prosci.com/change-fatigue
• Grabemeyer. “Change Fatigue: Multiple Voices from the Transformation Front Lines.” Grabemeyer Insights, 2025. grabemeyer.com

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2. Initiative Overload & Competing Priorities

Claim: Too many simultaneous projects dilute attention and stall adoption.

Takeaway: Governance should set pace/limits and coordinate priorities to protect sustainment.

References

• Bain & Company. “Managing Initiative Overload.” Bain Insights, 2023. bain.com
• Abrahamson, Eric. “Change Without Pain: How Managers Can Overcome Initiative Overload.” Columbia Business School Research, 2024. business.columbia.edu

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3. Governance Gaps (feedback doesn’t reach decision tables)

Claim: Unit-level feedback often stalls and never reaches bodies that make resource decisions.

Takeaway: Routing neutralized insights into formal governance cycles accelerates action.

References

• Governancepedia. “Top Challenges in Governance and How to Overcome Them.” Governancepedia, 2025. governancepedia.com
• Hall, Aaron. “Governance Failures from Lack of Formal Operating Procedures.” Aaron Hall Law, 2025. aaronhall.com

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4. Survey Fatigue & Trust Barriers

Claim: Traditional surveys are low-signal and can erode trust; anonymity and visible action improve candor.

Takeaway: Neutralization + “You Said → We Did” builds participation and sustained engagement.

References

• McKinsey & Company. “Survey Fatigue? Blame the Leader, Not the Question.” McKinsey Organization Blog, 2024. mckinsey.com
• DovetailNZ. “Survey Fatigue: Are We Plundering People’s Finite Resources of Patience and Trust?” DovetailNZ Insights, 2024. dovetailnz.com

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5. Missing Post–Go-Live Sustainment

Claim: Many initiatives lack an explicit sustainment plan, causing adoption to plateau.

Takeaway: Dedicated sustainment (cadence, owners, metrics) is required to maintain momentum.

References

• Change Collaboration. “Sustaining Change After Go-Live: The Forgotten Phase of Transformation.” ChangeCollaboration, 2024. changecollaboration.com
• ChangeStaffing. “For Lasting Change, Don’t End OCM at Go Live.” ChangeStaffing, 2024. changestaffing.com

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6. Business Impact of Sustainment (ROI)

Claim: Underperforming rollouts waste significant investment; modest adoption gains can pay back quickly.

Takeaway: Sustainment reduces failure waste and increases realized ROI.

References

• Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. “The Sustainability Dividend: A Primer on Sustainability ROI.” Harvard Law, 2025. corpgov.law.harvard.edu
• CulturePartners. “Change Management ROI: Measuring Financial Returns and Business Impact.” CulturePartners Insights, 2024. culturepartners.com

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Notes

Citations will be expanded as pilots progress. Summaries are paraphrases; please consult original works for full context.

Questions? Email launchguard360@gmail.com.