Question 1

What is the PONTE Framework and what is it for?

Accepted Answer

The PONTE Framework (ponte is the Italian word for ‘bridge’) is ImpulsoFuturo’s proprietary method for supporting sustainable organisational change.
It combines hands-on experience, organisational neuroscience and a systemic approach to develop change in five steps:

Prepare the ground
Observe without judging
Name the unspoken
Test in practice
Extend and consolidate

The process also rests on a few cross-cutting principles linked to learning, transformation in small steps and consolidation over time.
A PONTE programme lasts 4 to 8 months on average and aims to make the organisation autonomous in practising change every day.

Question 2

What are the 5 phases of sustainable organisational change?

Accepted Answer

The 5 phases of the PONTE Framework describe a structured path for supporting organisational change that can last over time.

Prepare the ground: create the conditions for change by listening to people and understanding expectations, fears and constraints before the work begins.
Observe without judging: gather information from the organisational context, distinguishing between the explicit problem and the underlying dynamics that influence it.
Name the unspoken: bring to light tensions, difficulties or things left unsaid that affect collaboration and results, and turn them into something to work on.
Test in practice: experiment with new behaviours and ways of working in real situations, with concrete, gradual steps.
Extend and consolidate: make change more stable over time by transferring skills, strengthening practices and setting up internal ways to keep on top of the change.

Question 3

Why do many change management projects fail?

Accepted Answer

Several studies, including analyses by McKinsey that are often cited, indicate that a significant share of change programmes do not fully achieve the expected results.
The most frequent causes are not so much technical as organisational and cultural. Among the most recurrent:

change is sometimes treated as an ‘on/off switch’, without adequate work on the context and on the people involved;
an alignment is assumed that, in practice, has not yet been built;
the effort focuses mainly on classroom training, without enough support in day-to-day operations;
fears about changes of role, status, job security or professional identity are not always addressed explicitly;
there is a tendency to measure mainly perceptions and statements, rather than the behaviour actually shown in daily work.

When these aspects are not considered systematically, old organisational patterns may tend to reassert themselves, even after structured change programmes.