Implementation Management Associates

Implementation Management Associates (IMA Worldwide) is a United States-based change management consulting firm and the creator of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM). Founded in 1989 by Don Harrison, the firm built its practice around a single research question: why do organizational transformations stall after go-live? AIM was developed from more than four decades of field research and is positioned as a structured, research-based system that closes the gap between installing a change and achieving sustained adoption. IMA Worldwide describes itself as the only change management firm built around AIM. The methodology distinguishes sharply between installation and implementation: installation treats the go-live date as the finish line, trains on system mechanics only, and leaves sponsorship optional, while full AIM implementation engineers sustained adoption into the plan from day one, assesses and coaches sponsors, and designs reinforcement so gains hold after launch. The firm's public materials cite independent research and its own field data, including the benchmark that roughly 70% of transformations fail to meet their objectives, and its finding that sustained leadership involvement is associated with two to three times higher adoption. The firm reports a substantial evidence base behind AIM: 40+ years of field research, 409 organizations in its Implementation History Assessment dataset, 19 industries served with readiness benchmarks across 13 of them, and 560+ certified AIM instructors. It also cites a client that has run AIM with its own people for more than 19 years. This research is published in IMA Worldwide's State of Change report. IMA Worldwide serves enterprises and professionals across startups, mid-market, and Fortune 500 organizations, with practice areas spanning change management, organizational change, agile transformation, data analytics transformation, M&A integration, and executive sponsorship. It offers AIM programs and practitioner certification, including in-person certification events such as the AIM Practitioner Certification scheduled in Portland. In 2024, Peacock Hill Consulting acquired IMA Worldwide. Ann Marvin, founder of Peacock Hill Consulting and Chief of AI Tools at IMA Worldwide, has spent more than 30 years helping organizations convert strategy into sustained behavior change and is the author of IMA Worldwide's published implementation research. Don Harrison, the founder and creator of AIM, brought more than 30 years of consulting experience advising senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations, entrepreneurial ventures, and government agencies. The firm remains active and continues to market AIM programs, sponsor coaching, and certification.

Implementation Management Associates (IMA Worldwide) was founded in 1989 by Don Harrison. Harrison, who holds an MS in Organization Development from Pepperdine University, brought more than 30 years of consulting experience advising senior executives at Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations, entrepreneurial ventures, and government agencies. He created the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) out of more than four decades of field research into a recurring question: why do transformations stall after go-live? The firm's central insight is the distinction between installation and implementation. Installation treats the go-live date as the finish line, trains on system mechanics only, and leaves sponsorship optional or informal. AIM instead engineers sustained adoption into the plan from day one, assesses and coaches sponsors, and designs reinforcement so that gains hold after launch. Harrison built AIM to address the failure modes he kept seeing in enterprise transformation: weak sponsorship and reinforcement that disappeared the moment a project went live. Over the decades, IMA Worldwide accumulated a substantial research base. Its public materials cite 40+ years of field research behind AIM, 409 organizations in its Implementation History Assessment dataset, 19 industries served with readiness benchmarks across 13 of them, and 560+ certified AIM instructors. The firm also cites a client that has run AIM with its own people for more than 19 years. This research is published in the State of Change report. IMA Worldwide describes itself as the only change management firm built around AIM. Ann Marvin, who spent more than 30 years helping organizations convert strategy into sustained behavior change, is the founder of Peacock Hill Consulting and serves as Chief of AI Tools at IMA Worldwide. She is the author of IMA Worldwide's published implementation research. In 2024, Peacock Hill Consulting acquired IMA Worldwide, bringing together Harrison's research-driven methodology and Marvin's operational change leadership. The firm continues to offer AIM programs, sponsor coaching, and practitioner certification, including in-person certification events such as the AIM Practitioner Certification scheduled in Portland from October 12 to 15, 2026.

• 2026

  AIM Practitioner Certification scheduled in Portland, October 12–15, 2026

• 2024

  Peacock Hill Consulting acquires IMA Worldwide

• 1989

  IMA Worldwide founded by Don Harrison

Research-based change management firm focused on sustained adoption rather than installation; the only firm built around the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM).

• Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM)

  A structured, research-based change management system that closes the gap between installing a change and achieving sustained adoption, built on the Express, Model and Reinforce framework.

• AIM Practitioner Certification

  Certification program for change practitioners, offered in-person (e.g., Portland, October 12–15, 2026).

• State of Change report

  Published research report containing IMA Worldwide's implementation research and benchmarks.

1. 1Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) | Driving Sustained Adoption | IMA Worldwideimaworldwide.com
2. 2Change Management That Delivers Adoption | IMA Worldwideimaworldwide.com
3. 3Ann Marvin: Sponsor Coaching and AI Implementation | IMA Worldwideimaworldwide.com
4. 4Don Harrison: Founder & Creator of AIM | IMA Worldwideimaworldwide.com
5. 5Implementation Management Associateswikidata.org