Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail - Hardcover

Conner, Daryl R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679406840 ISBN 13: 9780679406846

Publisher: Villard Books, 1993

Synopsis

This classic, newly updated, is an indispensable source for anyone-from mid-level managers to CEOs-who must execute key business initiatives quickly and effectively. Once groundbreaking and now time-honored, Managing at the Speed of Change has helped countless business leaders learn how to orchestrate transitions vital to their organizations' success. Rather than focusing on what to change, this book's aim is far more valuable: It shows readers how to change.
Daryl R. Conner, founder and chairman of the consulting firm Conner Partners, is a leading expert on change management. He has served as "change doctor" for clients that include non-profit enterprises, government agencies and administrations, and Fortune 500 companies in an array of industries such as Abbott Laboratories, PepsiCo, American Express, Catholic Healthcare West, JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. Navy.
Based on Conner's long-term research and his decades of consulting experience, Managing at the Speed of Change uses simple, easy-to-understand language and elegant visuals to explore the dynamics of change, and in doing so, teaches readers
- why major change is difficult to assimilate
- what distinguishes resilient individuals from those who suffer future shock
- how and why resistance forms
- how people become committed to change
- why organizational culture is so important to the success of change
- the roles most central to change in organizational settings
- why powerful teamwork is at the heart of achieving change objectives, and how to foster it

In this pioneering book, updated for the twenty-first century, Conner demonstrates how both individuals and organizations can develop the capacity not only to endure change but to thrive on it.

About this title

Review

"Through the author's creative and strategic use of storytelling, Managing at the Speed of Change paints a compelling picture: The biggest, most expensive thing that can derail success is resistance to change in all its forms, from arrogance and complacency to fear or ignorance. As an authority on change management, Conner writes a wonderful prescription, providing relief not just in the race for business but on a personal level, too."
-Bob Nardelli, chairman, president, and CEO, The Home Depot

"While many of the concepts in this book's first publication have now become classic, they are every bit as relevant and impactful, especially to an organization for whom change is an imperative."
-Howard Pien, chairman and CEO, Chiron Corporation

"Managing at the Speed of Change provides essential working knowledge for anyone leading or implementing major change. I have been using this material since it was first published, and it is as valuable today as it was then. Daryl Conner's insights are timeless and enduring."
-Valerie Norton, executive director, organizational development, Merck and Company, Inc.

"It is refreshing to finally read a book that contains simple, clear, actionable concepts and ideas that deal with change management and can be used by all levels of management who face today's staggering business realities. I found Mr. Conner's book to be educational, thought-provoking, insightful, and stimulating. He recognizes 'the need for speed.' "
-Lloyd H. Dean, president and CEO, Catholic Healthcare West

From the Back Cover

Finally, an indispensable source for anyone - from mid-level managers through top-level executives - who needs to implement business decisions on time and within budget. In today's ever-fluctuating world, it's not enough to recognize that you and the way you do business need to change. You must know how to make changes quickly, effectively, economically, and with as little political fallout as possible, or you are bound to fail. Everywhere today you hear the concern of those trying to adapt to the rapid flux created by an uncertain economy, ever-changing market demands, and the threat of international competition. Businesses worry that they can't keep up, and every day another corporation falls prey to the myth that the status quo still works. Daryl Conner, president and founder of the consulting firm Organizational Development Resources, Inc. (ODR), is the world's number one expert on change management. ODR, Inc., has served as "change doctor" for clients such as Georgia Pacific, Honeywell, IBM, Levi Strauss, Mobil Oil, AT&T, Chase Manhattan, JCPenney, Pepsi-Cola Company, and numerous organizations and governments in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, South Africa, and the former Soviet Union. Conner has taken his twenty years of change management experience and written a ground-breaking guide on resilient, successful change. His system focuses on how to change rather than what to change. Business people at all levels now face the major challenge of initiating company-wide reorganization plans, responding quickly to competition, establishing new products and markets, and adapting themselves smoothly to fluctuations in the economy. Conner's uniquely successful methods will teachtoday's managers to negotiate these transitions by teaching them what distinguishes resilient people from those who suffer future shock; why major change is difficult to assimilate; the key elements and the flow of events involved in human transition; what roles are central to change in organizational settings; how and why resistance forms; how people become committed to change; why organizational culture is so important to a change's success, and why powerful teamwork is at the heart of achieving change objectives. In this roller-coaster business climate, the adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" doesn't work anymore. Pepsi-Cola and the rest of Daryl Conner's clients will attest to that. Don't be daunted - start Managing at the Speed of Change and meet today's challenges with confidence.

Edition details

• Publisher: Villard Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0679406840
• ISBN 13: 9780679406846
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320