Leading the Edge of Change: Building Individual and Organizational Capacity for the Evolving Nature of Change

by John L. Bennett

Book Overview

It is about doing more than coping with change. It is about developing the capacity to survive and then thrive during the turbulence of change, which confront us personally, professionally, and as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967832306
• ISBN13: 9780967832302
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Paw Print Press (NC)
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Key to a Treasure Chest of Leadership

While change has become ubiquitous, leading change places an organization in a stronger competitive position. Leaders are supposed to lead change, but many don't know how. This book will give them some insight to do a better job at building individual and organizational capacity for the evolving nature of change.The book is organized into four sections: Nature and Response to Change, Building the Capacity to Spring Back and Survive, Organizational Components, and Time to Change. A bibliography and appendices add to the value of this little volume. A number of charts are provided for the reader to complete to organize the leadership process and follow through. During the first two chapters, the reader gains a good knowledge of what change is all about, including natural human responses to change. As Bennett launches into his explanation, he tells us about his grandmother and about Maggie, a sort of girl-next-door near grandmother's place. Maggie is a manager coping with change in her organization and Granny . . . well, she's a grandmother filled with wisdom. These characters are used to teach and to offer case studies, adding a smoothness to what might otherwise be just another difficult-to-read leadership book. Interacting as a consultant (Bennett is a Certified Management Consultant), the author coaches Maggie on how to work with her colleagues who relate to change in different ways. This process makes the book comfortably instructive. In the second section of the book, the focus is on resilience, a concept not often found in books on change. We're all "hit" by change, but the key to good leadership and success is how we bounce back from the impacts of change or adversity. A major key is to avoid extinction (hear the dinosaur?) by being flexible and adaptable. Bennett warns that we are all potential dinosaurs; due diligence is in order!The balance of the book is filled with information and ideas that will reinforce what you know and provoke some creative thinking. The Herrmann Brain Dominance concepts are interwoven to add a different dimension to the leadership-oriented content.Graphs and charts are thrown in to help the reader grasp the knowledge graphically . . . and to have lots of forms to complete to manage your leadership of change. Then I got my surprise. I was just about finished with the book, thinking it was a good leadership book. There are so many out there. Then, on page 85 I hit "Bibliography and Resources." I almost flipped by it until I realized what a tremendous treasure John Bennett has given us! Over four pages of listings that reads like the List of Recommended Readings for several graduate courses. What a rich resource! I couldn't resist. I counted. 65.This is a book that will really open your learning about leading change. It's the key to a treasure chest.

You've got to read this book!

If I could sum up in one word what this book has given me, that word would be WISDOM! More specifically, LEADING THE EDGE OF CHANGE has given me a deep understanding of how and why people react to change in different ways. It also taught me how I could (and should) choose people of differing change tolerances for project teams. People with different change tolerances will complement one another, as well as balance one another, during the process of managing initiatives for higher productivity and, therefore, for higher profits. Without a doubt, LEADING THE EDGE OF CHANGE has enhanced my ability to work with other people for our common goals. For that reason, I will reread it regularly, and I will always keep it among my most-used reference materials!Robbie Romeiser, President & CEO Faster Goals

Thought-provoking, "user friendly" reading for managers.

Leading The Edge Of Change: Building Individual And Organizational Capacity For The Evolving Nature Of Change summarizes key elements of widely used models of change styles to illustrate personal responses to change. Using the eyes and experiences of a single employee, John Bennett applies the Herrmann Whole Brain Model to lay a framework for teamwork, leadership, and communication. Invaluable, thought-provoking, "user friendly" reading for anyone charged with business management responsibilities, Leading The Edge Of Change weaves personal experiences of the central character's growth as a leader of tremendous change.