The change imperative
In the face of digital disruption, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, CEOs and CHROs continue to drive organizational change to keep pace. As businesses strive to adapt, innovate and improve faster than the competition, change has become the new constant. Yet research from Gartner, McKinsey and others consistently shows that half of all change initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes, while only 34% are a clear success. When it comes to business transformation, success remains the exception, not the norm.
On top of this, a decade of disruption has led to ‘change fatigue’ and poor retention across many workforces. Only 38% of employees are now willing to support organizational change, compared to 74% in 2016 (Gartner).
At Artgym, we’re on a mission to turn this transformation story around. Through leadership development and culture change, we energize and empower employees to make change effective. And at the heart of our approach is our award-winning Mindset+Practice=Results (M+P=R) methodology. It guides the design of all our programs and every Artgym coach is trained in how to embed it into their practice to deliver transformative outcomes.
In this article, we explore how behavior-led models like M+P=R set themselves apart from traditional change frameworks—and why they offer a more relevant and resilient approach for organizations navigating continuous change.
An overview of M+P=R
M+P=R combines the power of thinking differently with the discipline of consistent practice. Developed by a team of psychologists, experience designers and people development practitioners, it is grounded in behavioral science and the practices of high-performing teams worldwide. By seamlessly integrating these insights with cutting-edge experience design, M+P=R delivers immersive learning experiences that inspire participants and drive real, lasting change. It has enabled some of the world’s most successful organizations to achieve truly remarkable outcomes.
Mindset +
We help leaders and teams to develop deep self-awareness, embrace different perspectives, set clear intentions and free themselves from the boundaries of false limitations.
Practice =
We embed the mindsets and habits of high performance through challenge-based learning activities that focus leaders and teams on applying newly learnt skills and behaviors to collaborative, real-world business challenges.
Results
By coaching leaders and teams to measure and pass on the outcomes of their efforts, we ensure the learning experience makes an impact on them, their teams and the organization as a whole.
What sets M+P=R apart?
The M+P=R model offers a number of distinct benefits when compared to more established change frameworks such as Kotter’s 8-Step, McKinsey 7-S, Bridges Transition and others.
1/ Mindset as the foundation for change
“Executives at companies that took the time and trouble to address mind-sets were four times more likely than those that didn’t to rate their change programs as ‘successful’.”
McKinsey 2023
Most traditional change models, such as Kotter’s steps or ADKAR’s awareness-desire sequence, jump straight into action and/or pay superficial attention to people’s mindsets. In contrast, M+P=R positions mindset as the essential starting point for any successful transformation.
Drawing on the pioneering work of Carol Dweck and leading behavioral scientists, M+P=R explicitly begins the change process by cultivating a growth and innovation mindset—for leaders themselves, as well as the teams they lead. This deliberate focus equips people to be open, resilient, and adaptive, dramatically reducing resistance before it can take root. Crucially, M+P=R also fosters psychological safety, creating an environment where experimentation, learning and even failure are not only accepted but encouraged. This foundation empowers leaders and teams to see change as an opportunity for growth and innovation, rather than a threat to the status quo.
At Artgym, we have a huge amount of qualitative and quantitative data demonstrating just how profound this mindset change can be. Here are just a few examples:
“I feel like I’m part of big wave inside Rexel. Not just a training program but a true company mindset change.”
Rexel participant
“I became more self-aware, resilient and better at dealing with pressure.”
Adidas participant
“Some parts of the learning really changed my way of seeing things. In fact, I came back to my daily role with a calmer mindset, stepping back regularly to think about the different learnings that can help me in one situation or another.”
AXA GO participant
2/ Deep, sustainable change through collaborative practice
While models like McKinsey’s 7-S excel at diagnosing structural alignment, they often fall short in bridging the gap between theory and action. M+P+R closes this divide by immersing leaders and teams in collaborative, real-world business challenges where they can practice newly taught skills, mindsets and behaviors. During this practice, improvisation, risk-taking, experimentation and feedback are also encouraged.
Rooted in neuroscience, sport psychology and improv theater principles, this experiential learning approach rewires and strengthens the neural pathways that build habits and sustain new behaviors, ensuring that change is not just understood but lived and reinforced through action. Crucially, it also embeds business strategy and change goals into the day-to-day behaviors and actions of employees. The result? Change that sticks because it’s wired into daily work rhythms.
A good example of this experiential, practice-based approach to change is the dynamic, immersive ‘Bootcamps’ we build into many of our culture and leadership development programs. During these intensive, multi-day events facilitated by our coaches, participants come together to practice new mindsets and behaviors. Beyond skill-building, these Bootcamps also foster powerful connections across the organization, cultivating a sense of community and a shared commitment to strategy, culture and leadership. This immersive environment accelerates real change by turning learning into lived experience.
3/ Empowering, employee-driven change
Traditional change models often rely on top-down directives, which can undermine engagement and commitment. M+P=R puts employees in the driving seat and empowers them to make choices and decisions, both as individuals and in groups. Through practical, real-business challenges, it also supports them to collaborate with colleagues across the organization, further building employee-driven change momentum.
This hands-on, participatory approach creates a groundswell of employee-led momentum, turning change from something imposed into something owned. The result is deeper buy-in, more innovation, and a culture where change can thrive.
4/ Continuous adaptation and improvement
Change models such as ADKAR, Kotter’ 8-Steps and Bridges’ Transition offer leaders and organizations a linear, step-by-step process for change that, whilst strategically useful, isn’t always practical or workable in the ‘heat’ of change. By focusing on mindsets and behaviors, rather than a set process, M+P=R enables leaders and teams to respond in real time, continuously learning, iterating and improving as challenges and opportunities arise. The result is an organization that thrives on change, staying resilient and competitive no matter how rapidly the landscape evolves.
5/ Measurable, real-world impact at every level
Models like or ADKAR or the Kübler-Ross’ Change Curve measure individual readiness, but M+P=R ties outcomes directly to real business KPIs and impact across three levels: Personal, Team and Organizational. This ensures that change isn’t just felt but quantifiably seen in performance and outcomes. Once again, we have an enormous amount of data demonstrating this impact but, in the interests of brevity, have provided just one example from each level:
Personal impact:
93.3% of adidas DDE participants reported the program as ‘Extremely Effective’ in helping with their personal leadership development.
Team impact:
One of Rexel Group’s senior IT directors was very technically minded and found it hard to get his team to buy into his vision for transforming IT across the Group. Through his Artgym learning and strategic change initiative, he’s been able to persuade his team to see challenges as opportunities for innovation and new ways of doing things. His team is now implementing three transformative IT projects around unified customer data, AI-Powered operational efficiency and AI-driven customer support.
Organizational impact:
Our change programs for AXA GO are already making a seismic impact on the organization’s culture and business, just years after their launch. Head of Corporate Functions Products, Jonathan Giraud, commented on their impact:
“These programs are playing an instrumental role in driving AXA GO towards its strategic change ambitions. This includes:
- Strengthening our network of talents and breaking down the silos between teams
- Developing growth-oriented perspectives and strengthening sense of purpose
- Contributing to the attraction and retention of talents, from within and outside of the AXA Group
- Fostering diversity for greater collective performance
- Opening eyes and minds to develop new and innovative ideas”
How we embed M+P=R into coaching practice
We have heavily invested in the rigorous development of all Artgym coaches and M+P=R sits at the heart of the training. Our structured certification pathway—spanning Certified Practitioner, Advanced Practitioner, and Master Practitioner—ensures that every coach is equipped not just with academic knowledge, but with real-world expertise in researching, designing and delivering impactful M+P=R programs. Certification is anchored in the mastery of 28 core competencies across four key domains. This includes:
- Mindset: Working Alliance (creating psychological safety and trust), Inclusion: (valuing cultural/personal differences), and Authentic Dialogue (facilitating candid, compassionate conversations).
- Practice: Experimentation (encouraging creative risk-taking), Co-creation (involving stakeholders in solution-building), and Resistance Management (transforming conflict into “creative abrasion”).
- Results: Meaning Making (extracting collective insights from group reflection) and Storytelling (coaching learners to share insights as inspirational narratives).
- Continued Professional Development: Theoretical Orientation (applying behavioral science research) and Presence (leveraging intuition and personal experience in facilitation).
Conclusion: Rethinking change for a new era
In a world where the pace and complexity of change continue to accelerate, organizations can no longer rely on traditional, linear models to deliver transformation that lasts. The persistent failure rates of change initiatives, along with the growing sense of change fatigue among employees, demand a new, more human-centered approach.
Mindset+Practice=Results offers a proven, science-backed alternative to these traditional approaches that bridges the gap between intention and impact. Most importantly, it delivers measurable, sustainable impact at an individual, team and organizational level. The stories and data from our clients speak for themselves: When people are equipped to think differently and practice new ways of working together, extraordinary results follow.
The future of change is here. It’s collaborative, measurable, and deeply human.
