BSC’s Bookshelf
Hilary Ashmen, M.Ed., Adult Learning Consultant
Change Is Good…You Go First: 21 Ways to Inspire Change
Welcome back to our leadership resources book review. To help you continue to grow and move your ideas to action, we will provide you with a book of the month for your professional reading list.
Change is Good, You Go First, is a valuable resource for the practical application of change management. The authors use their business and marketing expertise to illustrate the strategies and benefits needed to impact change. Managing change effectively has a profound effect on the organization, its customers, and staff that promotes healthy growth. This book is energizing and reaffirms the benefits of persistence in the change process. Go beyond the status quo using these quick, real-life scenarios of effective strategies that support lasting change.
Re-recruiting your best people, respecting the growing process, and celebrating successes resonated most with me. We can take our most talented and respected managers and staff for granted. Re-recruiting starts with ensuring department managers have a positive attitude, commitment, and understanding of the mission and vision. They will then be prepared to bring in their key staff that have significant influence over how others will receive new initiatives. Key change agents communicate the benefits resulting in buy-in across the organization. In addition, it is critical to respect the growing process with time and patience. While the urgency of a situation may make it difficult, we must allow time for the seeds of change to take root so that they are strong and lasting. We reinforce the change process daily, weekly, and monthly to reinforce the key attitudes and behaviors of transformation. Our most important asset is our people, and recognition is a human need.
When you find yourself in the position of being a change agent for a work culture shift and are unsure of exactly how to best handle it, this is the book for you. Change is Good, You Go First helps you access the challenges ahead with staffing and identify potential pressure points that if left unattended will become roadblocks to your successful transition. Share this book with members of your organization for a clear and unintimidating story that shows the way to full transformation.
The book is recommended for…
- Leaders and all members of an organization experiencing change.
- An energizing read for work breaks or lunch hour.
Share your thoughts about the transformation process, join the conversation below.
Book
Anderson, M. & Feltenstein, T. (2015). Change is good, you go first: 21 ways to inspire change. Naperville, IL: Simple Truths.