Yet Another Change Management Book

Management are suckers for Change Management techniques. We have been trained and brainwashed that the most important job we have is to be an agent for changes. Then there are consultants, Exec MBA programs, short courses, and books on this very subject: all shouting that change management is hard. In fact, there are statistics proving the over-whelming failure rate. This feels like the great American weight-loss initiative: a goal that will be certain to suck up lots of money and guaranteed to fail.

Is Change Management really the most important task for a manager? No. The far and beyond #1 job for any manager is to deliver to the planned objectives. By definition, a manager has a pool of resources under his or her command. Then there are those goals he or she must achieve. The goals will be unreasonable and beyond the capacity of his or her team. (Why bother if otherwise?) Those who did not fail get to advance to the next level. Yes, more daunting objectives with even thinner resources.

This is life, like everyone else. If you have sufficient resources, talents, and time, of course you can do it. The winning and losing are decided when you don’t. Hmm, if you don’t, how would you do it?

Think about it. There is really only one answer.

You need to do it differently: not by the book, not after you have secured the resources, and not by the proven and true methodology. Everybody knew how to do it that way. If you do the same, you be mediocre. You may not lose, but you will not win. That’s why Change Management becomes job #1.

This book gives some practical tips, and some not so practical ones. I recommend it as among the first books a new manager will read on change management. If you are already a seasoned one, skip it.