AIM Change Management Certification: training that works in the real world
IMA Worldwide, the firm behind the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) · created by Don Harrison · acquired by Peacock Hill Consulting in 2024 · by Ann Marvin
Learn to drive adoption on real initiatives, not just pass an exam. IMA Worldwide's AIM Practitioner Certification is ACMP QEP-approved and earned by applying the methodology to live work, with credits toward your CCMP. And if you work with an AI assistant, bring it: the exercises train you both.
AIM Practitioner Certification is IMA Worldwide's ACMP QEP-approved change management credential, earned by applying the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) to a live initiative rather than by passing an exam. Practitioners leave with six working deliverables built on their own change, a digital badge, and QEP credits that count toward the CCMP.
ACMP QEP-approved program.
Credits toward your CCMP.
Earned by hands-on application.
Hands-on with the scored instruments.
AI assistants welcome in class. Optional.
What sets this AIM change management training apart?
Most change management credentials are earned by passing an exam. This one is earned by demonstrating judgment on work you are actually accountable for.
Earned through real-world application
Certification is earned by demonstrating expert judgment with your real work, not by passing an exam.
Focused on adoption, not just installation
Most change efforts achieve technical installation: the system goes live, the process changes on paper. AIM is built around closing the gap between installation and actual adoption.
Reinforcement as a structural requirement
IMA Worldwide's implementation research finds that what leaders reinforce carries roughly three times the impact of what they communicate. AIM treats reinforcement alignment as a core structural requirement rather than an afterthought.
Prioritize and focus, not a rigid checklist
AIM never requires you to complete every step on every initiative. Part of mastery is knowing which elements matter for your situation and where to focus.
Taught by practitioners, not academics
Your instructors consult with executives and teams across industries. They teach through real examples from decades of implementation work, not textbook scenarios.
Bring your AI, or don't. Your choice.
Optional: bring the AI assistant you already work with and the exercises train you both, so you leave certified and your assistant leaves fluent in AIM. The methodology works with or without AI.
A credential you put to work immediately
You leave certified, badged, and carrying credits, with a plan you built on your own initiative. The AIM toolkit and scored instruments are reserved for certified practitioners.
AIM Practitioner Certification
A formal credential in the Accelerating Implementation Methodology, earned by applying it to a real initiative.
A digital badge
A shareable credential for your LinkedIn profile and email signature.
CCMP credits
ACMP QEP credits that count toward the Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) credential.
Reinforcement built in
Reinforcement is a structural requirement. What leaders reinforce carries roughly three times the impact of what they communicate.
How is AIM certification different from Prosci and Kotter?
The three best-known change management certifications differ most in how the credential is earned and in how seriously each treats reinforcement. For a full framework comparison, see AIM vs Prosci vs Kotter.
| Certification | Methodology focus | How it is earned | Reinforcement approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIM Practitioner | Implementation, adoption, sponsorship accountability, and reinforcement systems, applied to your live initiative. | Demonstrated application to a real initiative. No proctored exam. Earns ACMP QEP credits toward the CCMP. | A core structural requirement, treated as the highest-leverage lever available to a sponsor. |
| Prosci and ADKAR | The individual change journey through five sequential stages. Communication and training focused, and strong on individual adoption. | A proctored exam. Lighter on organizational reinforcement and sponsorship mechanics. Widely recognized. | The final stage of ADKAR, treated as a sustainment activity rather than a design requirement. |
| Kotter's 8-Step | Leadership alignment and vision: urgency, coalition building, and strategic narrative, with an executive-level focus. | Coursework and examination. Less structured around practitioner diagnostics and reinforcement tools. | Anchoring change in culture is the final step. No built-in reinforcement design framework or scored tools. |
Built for everyone accountable for adoption
AIM Practitioner Certification fits the people on the hook for whether change lands.
Change leaders and consultants
A structured, repeatable methodology to apply across clients and initiatives.
Agile and transformation pros
Adoption structures that fit Agile and SAFe, including technology and ERP rollouts.
HR, L&D, and OD
Run enterprise-wide change programs and build the case for enterprise licensing.
Initiative and project managers
Adoption accountability, sponsor engagement, and post-launch reinforcement.
You leave with a plan you built
You apply AIM to your own initiative and produce six working deliverables, using the scored diagnostic instruments.
Define the Change
The project foundation that names the change you are driving and the working behavior that has to shift.
Implementation History Assessment
The IHA, a scored read on how your organization has handled past change, so you can plan for the climate you are entering.
Implementation Risk Forecast
The IRF, a scored forecast of where adoption is most likely to stall, so you can focus effort on the highest-priority risks.
Implementation Plan
A focused plan for sponsorship, key roles, and reinforcement, built on your own initiative.
Recurrent Themes Analysis
A structured look at the patterns surfacing across your initiative, so you respond to root causes rather than symptoms.
Critical Next Steps
The concrete moves you execute next, so you leave the program with momentum on your real change.
What a project foundation looks like in class. Typical initiatives practitioners bring:
Whatever you bring, the six deliverables above are built on it: your initiative is the coursework.
What change management skills will you build?
The program covers the full AIM implementation roadmap applied to your actual initiative, with measurement built into every phase. Every session builds directly on the last, using the scored diagnostic instruments. You leave with both the skills and the completed work product.
- Identify and mitigate systemic implementation barriers using the Implementation History Assessment (IHA).
- Structure your asks to sponsors using the Sponsor Contracting process.
- Build a cascading sponsorship network, and find the black holes that break the cascade before they cost you the change.
- Forecast where adoption is most likely to stall using the Implementation Risk Forecast (IRF).
- Design reinforcement that aligns rewards and consequences to the new behavior, then measure it with the Targeted Reinforcement Index (TRI).
- Know which AIM elements to prioritize for your specific initiative, rather than working a checklist.
- 1Define the Change
- 2Build Agent Capacity
- 3Assess the Climate
- 4Generate Sponsorship
- 5Determine Change Approach
- 6Develop Target Readiness
- 7Build Communication Plan
- 8Develop Reinforcement Strategy
- 9Create Cultural Fit
- 10Prioritize Action
The ten playbooks of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology, in the practice area colors of the AIM Practical Guide. In class, each one is applied directly to the initiative you bring.
Bring your AI to training.
Ask a general-purpose AI about the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) and it will answer confidently, and often wrongly: invented step lists, made-up acronym expansions, other frameworks' vocabulary. If an assistant is going to help you run change, it should learn AIM the same way you do: by applying it to a real initiative. So you are welcome to bring it to class. Every exercise you complete, you can complete with your assistant, whichever one you already use, or without one. Your choice, and the methodology is exactly the same either way.
What you learn
The full curriculum above, applied to your live initiative: the scored diagnostics, sponsor contracting, reinforcement design, and the judgment about where to focus.
What your AI learns
The correct canon and your context: the real playbook and instrument names, your sponsor map, your Implementation History Assessment results, your reinforcement plan. It stops improvising and starts drafting sponsor asks, communication plans, and status framing in AIM structure.
What that changes after class
Monday morning you are not starting from a blank page. The assistant that helps you draft already carries the methodology and your initiative, and the credential holder checking its work is you.
Bringing an AI is entirely optional. The Accelerating Implementation Methodology predates AI assistants by decades and works with or without one. Your certification is yours alone: the assistant is not certified, it is trained. If you do bring one, the exercises work with whichever assistant your organization allows in the room; if none is allowed, the program runs exactly as it always has.
How do you certify? Choose your format
Every format certifies you in the full methodology, earned by applying it to your own initiative.
Onsite intensive
Our most popular format. An immersive, in-person experience over four to five days that certifies a group together. Run it as a private company class at your location, or join a public class in a city. Contact us for group pricing.
Live virtual
Six sessions: one two-hour live session a week for six weeks, plus roughly six hours of applied work between sessions on your own initiative. Individuals start any time through the Implementation Lab; private classes are available for organizations.
| Onsite intensive | Live virtual | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Four to five consecutive days | Six weekly two-hour live sessions, plus roughly six hours of applied work between sessions |
| Where | Your location as a private class, or a public class in a city | Live online, start any time through the Implementation Lab |
| Best fit | Teams certifying together | Individuals, or private classes for organizations |
| Credential | The same AIM Practitioner Certification, earned by applying the methodology to your own initiative | |
Live, public, in your city. IMA Worldwide also runs live, in-person public classes. Looking to schedule a public session in your city? Contact us.
Certifying a team? Contact us to schedule a private class. Certifying as an individual? Sign up for flexible learning in the Implementation Lab and work at your own pace.
AIM-certified practitioners across industries
Professionals we have trained and certified apply AIM inside enterprise organizations across pharma, energy, retail, healthcare, technology, and public health.
Pharma and life sciences
Global pharmaceutical manufacturers, biotech, and medical device organizations. The AIM archive covers 54 pharmaceutical organizations.
Energy
Oilfield services companies, regulated utilities, and energy equipment manufacturers.
Retail and consumer
National big-box retailers and specialty consumer chains.
Healthcare and public health
Integrated health systems, pharmacy benefit managers, regional medical centers, and national public health agencies.
Technology, telecom, and aerospace
Telecommunications carriers, IT services firms, and aerospace component manufacturers.
Source: IMA Worldwide certification records and the AIM archive.
For many practitioners the credential is a career move, not just a skill: certified practitioners step into change leadership roles, leading transformations, building internal change capability, and running change management functions, with the working deliverables from their own initiative as the first proof.
Neither individuals nor client organizations are identified. Sectors reflect documented AIM engagements and accreditations.
What practitioners say after certifying
In their own words: participants from past AIM Practitioner Certification and Accreditation classes across pharma, energy, retail, and healthcare.
I can't believe how timely the training session was. It was a truly valuable experience that left me and the team extremely well-prepared to move forward with implementation... Without this workshop, this would have been impossible.
Senior Director, Global Medical Statistics, global pharmaceutical company
The Accreditation training session was really helpful in supporting all our planning and execution. It took us out of the 'conceptual' level and moved us to a clear execution plan.
Change Management Director, global retailer
The AIM Accreditation has done wonders for me, and opened up many new horizons. My perception of change management has changed big time after working with Don Harrison.
Interface Manager, global energy services company
AIM has become embedded in how I do my work. I highly recommend taking the class! Once you start using the methodology and tools you will reap the benefits of all the success!
Organizational Change Consultant, regional medical center
AIM Accreditation is an intense and stimulating experience. I highly recommend it for any executive who is serious about implementation.
AIM Accredited Practitioner, global pharmaceutical company
Totally inspirational, really loved it! I learned so many new things! Don's delivery was captivating. I wish I'd came across AIM 10 years ago because then many of my projects would not have crashed and burned.
Programme Manager, enterprise program delivery
Common questions about AIM certification
1What is AIM Practitioner Certification?
2Is change management certification worth it?
3How is AIM certification different from Prosci?
4What formats are available?
5Does AIM certification count toward a CCMP?
6Who should get certified?
7Does AIM work with Agile, SAFe, and ERP programs?
8What will I produce during the program?
9How long does AIM change management training take?
10Is AIM certification right for project managers?
11Is AIM certification good for Agile and SAFe professionals?
12What is the AIM reinforcement requirement?
13What is the difference between AIM and Kotter certification?
14How does the AIM methodology support organizational change and business transformation?
15Can I bring my AI assistant to AIM training?
Find the right starting point
ChangePro WorkshopA short, applied workshop for the person working inside a change.
Certify online, live virtualIndividuals: start any time with flexible learning in the Implementation Lab.
Enterprise TrainingBuild AIM fluency across sponsors, leaders, and practitioners.
Compare all programsSee which AIM program fits your role and goals.
Get certified in AIM.
Certifying a team? Contact us to schedule and we will help you choose the format and timing that fit. Certifying as an individual? Sign up for flexible learning in the Implementation Lab.
Team: contact us to schedule Individual: sign up in the Implementation Lab