A distinction for diagnosing fake organizational change: installation is putting a new structure, title, or process in place; adoption is people actually changing how they think and behave because of it. Renaming a role or standing up a new team structure without changing the underlying decision-making and trust dynamics is installation only — it looks like transformation but isn't.
Closely related to Transformation Theater (performing the change) and a useful diagnostic question alongside Unused Roadmap Items Diagnostic Question when assessing whether a stated transformation is real.
"That's a problem of installation, not adoption... Installation is a good example of just changing the title."
When a company correctly diagnoses that it needs product managers instead of product owners, the installation move is to simply rename titles — declare people 'product managers' — without building the underlying Product Sense or coaching the skills the new title implies. Adoption requires real coaching investment so people can actually think and act like product managers, not just wear the label. The gap between the two is invisible on an org chart and only shows up in behavior.
Из тем: Transformation in Practice