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25 Good Books on Change
Must Reads
-
Must Reads:
- Managing
at the Speed of Change by Daryl
Conner
- Job
Shift
by William Bridges
- Leading
Change
by John Kotter
- Deep
Change: Discovering the Leader Within
by Robert Quinn
- The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz
Managing
at the Speed of Change, Daryl Connor - Villard Books, 1993.
Systematic approach to the tactical and human needs of change.
Over the years, Daryl Connor has built up a very successful change consulting
company, ODR, Inc. ODR has developed a wide variety of assessments and
intervention skills which it has implemented in organizations all over
the world. This book is the distillation of all the ODR materials into
one very readable book complete with models, assessments, stories and
applications. We like to think of Connor as the "Mechanic"; he has drawn
on his clinical background to develop a complete system for change management.
Connor is also aware of the limitations of any system, namely, the tendency
of systems to be inflexible in times of high ambiguity and chaos. As a
result, he has written another book, Leading at the Edge of Chaos,
to address that issue. (See below.)
Job Shift,
William Bridges - Addison Wesley, 1994.
Big picture perspective on structural changes in the culture. Although
not a work on change per se, this book is nevertheless an invaluable
contribution to understanding what we like to call the "context" of the
current changing environment -- the big picture. The subject of the book
is the concept of a "job" : what it is understood to be and what it is
becoming. Like his classic Transitions, Job Shift goes beyond change
as an organizational issue and looks at the large structural changes and
how they affect the way we work and the way we think about work. Well
written; engaging style.
Leading
Change, John Kotter -Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
Tactical/strategic blueprint for change. Kotter's book is the quintessential
strategy/action plan/implementation approach to change. In the spirit
of a good Harvard academic, he gives us eight steps, all crisp and to
the point. His focus on traditional themes -- i.e. urgency, building
coalition, vision, action, short-term wins and culture -- strike some
as a bit too traditional, but we feel that the total effect of his overall
approach is greater than the sum of its parts. This is a tactical, change-is-not-for-wimps
approach and as such does not factor in the human transition/resistance
factors present in any changing culture. A valuable and clear roadmap
for implementing change.
Deep
Change, Robert Quinn - Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996.
The role of personal awareness in change and change leadership. Some
change experts assert -- rightly, we would argue -- that good strategy and
tactics often fall short because they fail to take into consideration
the human element in change. Part of that human element is the reaction
of the people being affected by change; the other part concerns itself
with the personal buy-in of people in general and leaders in particular.
Deep Change asserts that personal change -- i.e. defining personal
values, understanding resistance and acting with integrity -- comprise
the bedrock for any outward strategy for changing the organization. Its
theme: First, know thyself. Unlike many books written in this vein, which
are often too philosophical and even "touchy-feely," Quinn's approach
contains practical exercises and applications. Deep Change is yet
another excellent, sensitive and practical offering from Jossey-Bass Publishers.
The Path of Least Resistance for Managers, Robert Fritz -Berrett-Koehler, 1999. Building on the success of his book The Path of Least resistance, Fritz has turned his attention to management and leadership. At first glance, it's hard to tell whether you're dealing with behavioral psychology, physics, management or applied philosophy. Actually it's a little of all four. Like Senge et al, the approach is sort of like physics applied to human and organizational settings. Fritz himself is called the father of "structural consulting." Have we peaked your curiosity? Fritz's approach is less organizational engineering than it is human engineering to make organizations work. It takes the "human side of change" to a whole new level. Ultimately, it is a synthesis of the best of organizational reengineering and basic motivation principles. Unique, applicable -- maybe even cutting edge. You owe it to yourself to check it out.