The CLEAR Change Framework
A powerful path to transformation.
By Erik Bohjort, licensed psychologist and creator of the CLEAR Change Framework, Stockholm, Sweden · 22 pages, PDF
In brief
Over 70 percent of transformation initiatives fail, often because people lack clarity of purpose and genuine engagement. This introductory whitepaper by Erik Bohjort, licensed psychologist and creator of the CLEAR Change Framework presents CLEAR as a five-step model designed to flip that script: Clarity, Leverage, Experimentation, Analysis and Refinement, a sequence that balances a clear North Star with agile, iterative execution.
The paper compares CLEAR with established models, including Kotter's 8 Steps, ADKAR and Lean Change, to validate its principles, and draws on real-world stories such as the Starbucks turnaround, Earth Force's grassroots innovation and the UK Policy Lab's experiments. CLEAR does not ask organisations to abandon what works in traditional change management; it integrates proven ideas such as vision and reinforcement with an adaptive learning mindset.
Key points
- CLEAR stands for Clarity, Leverage, Experimentation, Analysis, Refinement.
- Designed to balance a clear North Star vision with iterative, experiment-driven execution.
- Compared against Kotter's 8 Steps, ADKAR and Lean Change, and illustrated with Starbucks, Earth Force and the UK Policy Lab.
Questions this paper answers
- Who is this whitepaper for?
- Leaders and change practitioners who want a complete introduction to the CLEAR Change Framework: its five steps, how it relates to established change models, and how to run it in practice.
- Does CLEAR replace Kotter or ADKAR?
- No. The paper positions CLEAR as integrating proven ideas from traditional change management, such as the importance of vision and reinforcement, with a modern, iterative learning approach built on behavioural science and systems thinking.
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