Chasing Change
Bringing about change requires more than simply advocating and imple- menting new policies, structures, or other physical-dimension changes. It also requires a behavioral change at the individual or personal level in order to engage the hearts and minds of people. Chasing Change addresses change at both an organizational and a personal level through a robust multi-dimensional change model to aid readers’ understanding of how the external environ-ment drives change, and how to stay in alignment with it.
A survival guide for organizational members who have seen far too many failed improvement initiatives, Chasing Change provides an understanding of the cultural and personal dimensions of change that must be leveraged in tandem with infrastructure in order to have and sustain a successful change initiative.
Written for CEOs, managers, and others leading change initiatives, Chasing Change distinguishes between change imposed on organizations by the external environment, and change that the organization originates in response to misalignment between the organization and the external environment. Authors Bob Thames and Doug Webster combine their decades of strategic change experience to identify thirteen core capabilities that can be evaluated and further developed to enable greater learning and adaptation to change:
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Leadership
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Commitment
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Accountability
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Forward Thinking
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Innovation
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Communication
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Risk Tolerance
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Organizational Learning
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Trust
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Diversity
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Empowerment
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Adaptation
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Dynamic Stability
Organized into three parts Awareness, Ass-essment, and Assimilation Chasing Change begins with change basics and a model for understanding how the environment sets the stage for change. From there, the book proceeds to an assessment of core organizational capa-bilities to effectively respond to requirements for change. The authors conclude by laying out specific strategies, references, and tools currently available to enable organizations to be more effective in their unique change challenges.
An essential resource for all agents of change, Chasing Change provides readers with the knowledge to understand the drivers of change as well as a practical toolset for meeting the change management needs tailored to each specific organization.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Chasing Change
Building Organizational Capacity in a Turbulent Environment
“How often do you get an opportunity to absorb what two highly skilled practitioners have learned about successfully executing transformational change? More to the point, how frequently do you have the chance to learn about implementing critical initiatives from people who actually know what they are talking about? If you are a leader facing the challenges of fundamental change, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of what Thames and Webster have shared about their considerable experience in this field. I’ve been a researcher, practitioner, and author in the field of change management for over thirty-five years. With ‘elder’ status comes the privilege of declaring when I think someone’s work should be distinguished from other worthwhile but less valuable efforts (whether anyone listens to my opinion is another matter altogether). Chasing Change is more than a book I recommend in general; it is one that I will encourage my clients to read.”
Daryl Conner, Chairman, Conner Partnersauthor of Managing at the Speed of Change and Leading at the Edge of Chaos
“Some of the most important research in CAM-I Interest Groups was done in the Change, Adaptation, and Learning Interest Group. The resulting change model and diagnostic assessment in Chasing Change can be a powerful methodology, approach, and tool in the hands of change leaders who want to take their organizations to new competitive levels in leveraging both the hard and soft sides of change.”
Ashok Vadgama, President, CAM-I author of Data?The DNA of Business Intelligence
About the Author
Robert C. THAMES is a Senior Program Manager at SAS Institute with over thirty years of experience in the technology industry, selling, managing, and delivering strategic solutions to customers and clients in the commercial telecommunications, entertain-ment, manufacturing, and retail industries, and the federal public sector. His association with CAM-I spans fourteen years, during which he led the Change, Adaptation, and Learning Interest Group in that organization. His articles have appeared in Strategic Management, Cost Management, SAS, and BetterManagement.com.?
As the former CFO of the Department of Labor, DOUGLAS W. WEBSTER was responsible for upholding strong financial management and accountability while enhancing internal control in an organization of more than 16,000 employees and a budget exceeding $50 billion. Prior to his appointment as the CFO, he served a twenty-one-year career in the U.S. Air Force, was the principal finance advisor to the Iraq Ministry of Transportation under the Coalition Provisional Authority, and served with leading firms providing management-consulting services to over twenty federal agencies.
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