CID
K
KEVRA
The Culture Company

Culturally Informed
Diagnostic for Change

A behavioral-systems diagnostic for grounded organizational change

Behavioral Science Systems Change Targeted Universalism

How to use: Work sequentially before or during a change initiative. Steps 1–2 are diagnostic — map reality as it actually is. Steps 3–4 are strategic — design responses grounded in that reality. Anchor Questions are the minimum viable inquiry per step. Probing Questions go deeper. Use individually, with a core team, or with interest-holders.

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Step 01

Map the Ecosystem

Ecosystem Change (OECM) · Systems Mapping
Purpose

Identify who holds power, who is most affected, and how surrounding organizations, policies, and informal networks will enable or resist this change.

Anchor Questions
→Who is inside this change? Who is outside but affected?
→What organizations or systems surround this initiative?
→Where does formal authority sit vs. real influence?
Signal Rating + Practitioner Notes
>> ECOSYSTEM COMPLEXITY Flag: Who is missing from the table entirely?
Step 02

Read the Culture

Shadow Culture · Hofstede · Behavioral Science
Purpose

Surface formal and informal cultural patterns shaping how people actually respond — not how leaders assume. Distinguish espoused values from lived norms.

Anchor Questions
→What do people say the culture is vs. what do they do?
→What informal norms govern how work really gets done?
→What behaviors are rewarded — officially and unofficially?
Signal Rating + Practitioner Notes
>> CULTURAL ALIGNMENT GAP Flag: Whose norms are treated as the default?
Step 03

Assess Differential Impact

Targeted Universalism · John Powell, UC Berkeley
Purpose

Set a universal change goal; then disaggregate by group to identify who is differently situated. Barriers are not equal — strategies must address structural conditions.

Anchor Questions
→What is the universal goal all groups are moving toward?
→Which groups are furthest from that goal, and why?
→What structural conditions explain the performance gap?
Signal Rating + Practitioner Notes
>> PRECISION READINESS Flag: Universal strategies hiding differential impact.
Step 04

Design Targeted Strategy

Behavioral Design · Prosci ADKAR · Ecosystem Alignment
Purpose

Build strategies reflecting ecosystem, culture, and impact findings. Design multiple pathways — not one message, one training, one plan for everyone.

Anchor Questions
→What behavior change is required, from whom, by when?
→What reinforcers, formal and informal, must shift?
→Which strategies are needed so that all populations reach the shared goal condition?
Signal Rating + Practitioner Notes
>> ADOPTION READINESS Flag: Strategies that only work for the dominant group.
Precision Standard

At least one strategy per step must address the context of groups most differently situated from the universal goal (Powell, 2020).

Revision Cadence

Re-administer at launch, 60-day check, and post-adoption. A living instrument, not a one-time gate.

"This diagnostic exists because most change fails not from bad strategy, but from a failure to ask who bears the cost. CID is designed to make that question unavoidable."
— Dr. Kevin Sansberry
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