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25 Good
Books on Change
Helpful
-
Helpful:
- Reengineering
the Corporation by Michael
Hammer & James Champy
- The
Fifth Discipline
by Peter Senge & The Fieldbook, Senge et al
-
Managing Transitions
by William Bridges
- Managing for the Future by Peter Drucker
- Leading at the Edge of Chaos by Daryl Conner
- Future Perfect by Stanley Davis
- Thinking
in the Future Tense by Jennifer James
- The Transformational Leader by Noel Tichy & Mary Ann Devanna
- Managing Uncertainty and Change from Harvard Business Review Paperbacks (Two good selections of articles)
- The Art of the Long View by Peter Schwartz
Reengineering
the Corporation, Michael Hammer and James Champy -- HarperBusiness,
1993.
There is debate as to the efficacy of reengineering as a corporate strategy.
Some still see it as an option; others as a passé holdover from the heyday
of quality management. It is an option, however, with valid approaches
and techniques and, as a result, deserves consideration. Hammer's and
Champy's book is an excellent resource.
The Fifth Discipline, Peter
Senge - Doubleday, 1990.
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook,
Senge et al -- Doubleday, 1994.
I once began a talk by holding up a copy of The Fifth Discipline
in one hand and the Fieldbook in the other and asked the audience,
" How many of you own or have access to either or both of these two books?"
Virtually everybody raised their hands. Then I asked, "How many have actually
read either or both of these books?" The immediate laughter was followed
by a large scale lowering of hands. The Fifth Discipline and Fieldbook
are two of the best known, most referenced and least read books in the
area of organizational studies. Which is too bad -- because they have a
lot to offer. I think the reason for this situation is that the concept
was more powerful than the content. The idea of a learning organization
was compelling but the content of the books just didn't deliver. Personal
mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning just didn't seem
all that new or exciting. I can't tell you how many people and organizations
I know who developed their "own" versions of just what it takes to build
a learning organization. I myself have been trained in the most substantive
area of this discipline: systems thinking and loop diagrams. I think it's
an excellent tool. Organizations, however, tend to not want to take the
time either to learn or to implement the applications of this process.
In all, the books that became virtual overnight classics are still under-read
and under-appreciated.
Managing Transitions, William
Bridges - Addison-Wesley, 1991.
This book presents applications of the "Endings/Transitions/Beginnings"
model Bridges introduced in his classic book Transitions. (See
above.) Because the ideas lend themselves more to reflection or to being
combined with more behavioral skills, the applications in this book are
a little soft around the edges. Still, there is a lot of good information
and insight in this book -- plus a number of great quotations. A good companion
piece to Transitions.
Managing for the Future,
Peter Drucker - Truman Talley Books / Plume,1993.
No list of books on matters organizational is complete without an offering
by the master, Peter Drucker. True to his reputation, Drucker paints the
theme of change on a broad canvas, covering a host of venues from economics
to business tactics to politics to personal reflection. Somehow he always
manages to be fresh and readable. You may also want to look at his Managing
in Turbulent Times, published in 1980, right at the outset of the
era of increasing change. It almost made our "classics" list.
Leading at the Edge of Chaos,
Daryl Connor
As the "sequel" to Connor's Managing at the Speed of Change, this
book adds a "missing piece." Connor began developing his change management
processes in the 70's, at a time when change management was more similar
to what we now might call reengineering. The approach was logical and
operational. As change increased, change changed. Words like ambiguity
and chaos replaced those of logic and process. Connor, recognizing this
shift, has endeavored to augment his already valid process with the missing
link: the concept of resilience.
Future Perfect, Stanley
Davis -Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1989.
Too often a book comes and goes before enough people get a chance to appreciate
it. Davis' book addresses the realities of organizations and change, but
can also sail to a new vision of what change is all about complete with
a unique and innovative vocabulary - Any Time, Any Place, No-Matter
-- for conceptualizing change. He is author of one of our favorite
phrases: ". . . there is even a Catch-22 to catching up: when you get
there, "there" isn't there any more."
Thinking in the Future Tense,
Jennifer James - Simon & Schuster, 1996.
James' book is a treasure trove of insights, examples, and applications
(skills) for understanding the future a.k.a. meeting and managing change.
The author addresses a wide variety of topics and areas ranging from business
and management to the market and the economy to diversity and life balance.
An urban cultural anthropologist by trade, she takes us on a trip through
our culture of change and makes it, if not more manageable, at least more
understandable.
The Transformational Leader,
Noel Tichy and Mary Ann Devanna - John Wiley & Sons, 1986.
Some might put this book in the "classics" category. It came out just
when the surge of change was ramping up. We see it as a transitional book
-- in some ways traditional and in others innovative in addressing the
needs of change. We particularly like the sections dealing with "The Gathering
Storm," "Overcoming the Resistance to Change" and "Creative Destruction."
Tichy continues to be a leader in understanding and addressing change.
Harvard Business Review on Change, Harvard Business School Press, 1999. Harvard Business Review on Managing Uncertainty, Harvard Business School Press, 1999. These two anthologies of Harvard Business review articles on change and managing uncertainty are excellent resources for change related articles on a wide variety of topics ranging from technology, competition, planning, leadership and "catching the wave" to resistance, balancing, uncertainty, learning and vision. Every person has his or her favorites. An excellent resource for quick reads on focused topics by leading experts.
The Art of the Long View,
Peter Schwartz -Doubleday, 1991.
This is a unique and intuitive book. So, what does that mean? you ask.
The premise of the book is that change management is not a "mechanical
exercise" but rather a creative act which relies more on "intuitive skills."
Sounds pretty vague? It's not. There is method and technique here -- as
well as examples and a track record of results with big hard nosed companies.
The technique is that of "Scenario Building." In sum, this is a book about
scenario building -- a valid technique for change management.