Fall 2025

Baby steps

Dawn Stevens, Comtech Services

Big organizational changes always seem exciting on paper. When a company decides to modernize its technical communication strategy, the conversation is usually ambitious: new CCMS, new content model, new workflow, new publishing pipeline — all rolled out at once. It feels bold, decisive, and efficient to overhaul everything in a single leap.

But lately, I’ve been thinking about change a little differently. As you probably have read already in my column, I have a new grandson and watching him learn about the world has reminded me of something we often forget as professionals: big leaps aren’t natural. Growth happens in small, deliberate steps, and skipping those steps usually leads to frustration.

Just as no baby goes from birth to a 5K run in a single day, teams can’t absorb sweeping change overnight. Big-bang transformations often overwhelm writers, frustrate reviewers, exhaust budgets, and stall progress. The result? Abandoned initiatives, burned-out employees, and leadership reluctant to try again.

The better approach is simple — and much more effective: take baby steps.

What Babies Teach Us About Change

In his first almost four months of life, my grandson has accomplished what might seem like tiny milestones — but they are actually monumental:

• He’s learning to focus his eyes on family faces and favorite toys.
• He’s figuring out how to grab things (and, yes, put them in his mouth).
• He’s experimenting with rolling from his back to his side (driven evidently by a deep-seated hatred of “tummy time”).
• He’s discovering that he can make sounds, and that we respond when he does.

Each of these steps lays the groundwork for what comes next — rolling leads to crawling, crawling leads to walking, and eventually, to running.

• Rolling over builds strength and coordination.
• Crawling teaches balance and mobility.
• Walking develops independence.
• Running comes last — and only when the child is ready.

Each stage is a building block. Skip one, and you risk injury, frustration, or fear. If I tried to prop my grandson up and force him to run right now, we’d both be in tears. He’s simply not ready — physically, cognitively, or emotionally.

Each stage is a building block. Skip one, and you risk injury, frustration, or fear. If I tried to prop my grandson up and force him to run right now, we’d both be in tears. He’s simply not ready — physically, cognitively, or emotionally.

Organizations are no different. When we try to change everything at once — introducing new tools, processes, content models, and governance — we’re asking people to run before they’ve even figured out how to roll over. Baby steps build skills, confidence, and team buy-in — ensuring the eventual “run” toward full transformation is sustainable.

The Danger of the “Big Bang” Approach

I’ve seen many companies attempt a complete overhaul of their technical communication strategy in a single push. The result is often predictable:

• Cognitive overload: Teams face too many new processes at once. Writers can’t keep up with learning new tools and new models and new processes simultaneously.
• Cultural resistance: People feel change is happening “to them,” not “with them.”
• Frustration: Writers feel lost, deadlines slip, and morale takes a hit.
• Budget blowouts: Large initiatives require upfront investment and can falter before ROI is realized.
• Missed learning opportunities: If the approach doesn’t work, there’s no easy way to pivot.
• Failed adoption: When the pressure becomes too great, teams quietly revert to old ways of working — undoing the progress you worked so hard to achieve.

In short, the “big bang” approach may look bold and efficient at first, but it often leads to the organizational equivalent of a tantrum.

Baby Steps in Action

Baby steps are not about going slow — they’re about sequencing change so that each stage prepares you for the next. Instead of changing everything at once, organizations can take smaller, intentional steps that build readiness and confidence over time. Think of them as developmental milestones:

• Roll Over: Start with one pain point — maybe automating a single repetitive task like formatting output — and let the team see how much easier life becomes.
• Sit Up: Pilot a new process or tool with one small team. Let them experiment, learn, and share success stories before rolling it out to the entire department.
• Crawl: Redesign one content type at a time. Fixing your release notes or quick start guide first gives writers a tangible model they can use elsewhere.
• Cruise: Build training and documentation as you go, so when it’s time to scale up, you have materials ready to support others.
• Walk, Then Run: Only after the team has mastered these smaller changes should you move toward full implementation of a CCMS, a new taxonomy, or global content governance.

Each step is a chance to build muscle, learn what works, and celebrate success — just like we cheer when a baby rolls over for the first time or pulls up on the couch. Each success becomes a confidence booster and a proof point for leadership.

📌 Baby Steps Roadmap for Tech Comm Transformation

Momentum Matters

One of the joys of watching a baby grow is how quickly one milestone leads to the next. One minute my grandson was simply banging on things with his fist and then, virtually overnight, he figured out how to open his hand and grab things. Now, he wants to use this new skill all the time, trying to pick up everything, including things larger than his little hand and muscles could possibly hold and the little patterns on his clothes or blankets, which he has not figured out can’t be separated from their fabric.

Change in organizations works the same way — early wins create energy and excitement. The key to baby steps is to keep that momentum going:

• Celebrate each success publicly.
• Show leadership the measurable impact of every small change.
• Communicate what’s next so the team always sees a path forward.

Think of it as encouraging a toddler: every new skill deserves applause, but we keep them moving toward walking — and eventually running. Over time, these small steps add up to real transformation — and by the time you “run,” your team is strong, confident, and fully bought in.

The Payoff

Big, sudden leaps might look impressive, but lasting transformation happens step by step. By respecting the natural progression from crawl to run, you’ll build a healthier, more resilient, and ultimately faster-moving technical communication organization. Take it from someone who’s watching a baby discover the world: the journey is much smoother — and much more joyful — when you crawl before you run.

When you give your organization time to grow through each stage, you build not just a new process, but a healthier, more resilient culture.

When you give your organization time to grow through each stage, you build not just a new process, but a healthier, more resilient culture. Your writers, reviewers, and leaders feel part of the change rather than victims of it. Once your team has mastered the basics, you’ll find that the big strategic changes — a complete CCMS rollout, a full taxonomy redesign, a global governance model — are much easier to implement. By then, you have skilled practitioners, invested stakeholders, and visible proof of success. You reach the finish line — and stay there — instead of stumbling back to old habits.

About the Author:

Dawn Stevens is CIDM’s Director and President of Comtech Services. She has over 30 years of practical experience in virtually every role within a documentation and training department including project management, instructional design, writing, editing, and multimedia programming.