Book of the Month
In this issue we bring you an overview of Charles Handy's classic text Understanding Organizations and why it is as relevant now as it was 30 years ago.
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Coming up in our next issue:
- The Change Curve - staying focused during the tough times
- The Classics: The Games People Play - Eric Berne's slightly tongue in cheek overview of Transactional Analysis
- PLUS - more topical articles on business issues.
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With the economy in free fall and so many countries officially reporting a recession, it would be understandable to feel gloomy about the prospects facing us in 2009.
Challenges, despite being tough, bring opportunities as well. One of the periods of greatest diversification and growth happened during the great depression in the 1930's, shifting towards more service-based and small and medium sized enterprizes. Entrepreneurs flourished and it was also a golden age for the entertainment industry.
Downsizing allows companies to re-think and connect with a core strategy. Redundancy allows individuals to re-think their priorities and goals. Economic re-trenchment allows countries to develop more sustainable economic policies.
The challenge for companies in times of downturn is not unique, but the margin for error is smaller with less tolerance for mistakes. Having a focus on your key results, retaining and developing your in-house talent and developing strategies that allow for incremental and sustainable growth will all help you through the tough times.
As a recent EIU study highlights, recognising and holding on to your Top Talent in these difficult times is not easy, but increases the likelihood of agility and responsiveness to cope with the difficult times ahead.
So stand by your change agents and remember, that some reflection and focused intervention now could position you for great growth in the future.
Mary McGuire
Founder | |
Holding on to Top Talent - How well do you do it?
An EIU study spanning 10 years which looked at major change initiatives in Fortune 500 companies found that most of the organisations rather than retaining and promoting their change leaders, tended to lose them.
Curious is it not, that proven leaders who have delivered results are not valued by the very organizations that they have benefited from their efforts.
Yet it is a startling fact 85 percent of the initiatives met or exceeded their performance goals but fewer than 30 percent of the initiatives' full-time leaders were promoted - and the same percentage were terminated or left their companies voluntarily at the conclusion of the change effort. 
It is a stark reminder of how important it is to hold on to top talent, particularly talent that has a track record in transforming the organization. This study would suggest that the ability of companies to do this is still patchy and the cost to the long term growth can be catastrophic.
We particularly like the categorisations of organizations as :
- Paragons - Companies that embraced change
- Masters - Companies that focus on leadership development
- Warriors - Companies that excelled in responding to competitive threats
- Laggards - Companies that could implement adequately but did not excel at change or leadership.
The top two tended to fare better in their change initiatives and holding on to their change agents.
Its worth looking at how your organization copes with change and what options exist to develop and retain your change agents. In these troubled times it could be the difference between survival or extinction. Read More .. |
Books that Changed the Business World: Understanding Organizations by Charles Handy
This book was first published in 1976 and is as valid and as insightful today as it was when first published. Charles Handy is one of our foremost writers and academic thinkers in the management of change, organisational theory and individual learning. Understanding Organizations was his landmark publication in what is an impressive body of work.
Why would we recommend this book?
Even today the book has fresh and valid insights into how organizations work and the application of behavioural science to managerial situations. Anyone who is new to the field of management, or has recently taken over an organization, or indeed is newly entering the field of management consultancy would get a good introduction into the breadth and depth of management and organizational theory from this book.
Organizational Theory, Handy tells us should:
"Help one to explain the past which in turn helps one to understand the Present and thus to predict the future."
He advocates for an eclectic approach to theory, picking from a wide body of knowledge anything that would help, rather than slavishly sticking to a single dogma or for the latest panacea to all management ills. It simply does not exist.
Who should read this book?
Anyone thinking of reading a book on organizational theory, or someone embarking on the journey of how to lead change effectively will benefit from the insights that this book provides. It offers a treasure trove of theory and insights, which are as relevant and useful today as they were when the book was first published. |
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The Change Equation - Why Dissatisfaction is essential for improvement
One of the things that we talk about in Agents2Change is how to bring about lasting & sustainable change in organisations. There is a plethora of views on how to do this, but one that has particular resonance for us, when working with highly resistant clients is the Change Equation, a model developed by Richard Beckhard & David Gleicher in 1987.
It sees change as a number of factors that when working together either create the conditions for change or explain the absence of the appetite for change.
The Change Equation is often represented as:
D x V x KS > R. These factors are:
D = Dissatisfaction with how things are now;
V = Vision of what is possible;
KS = Knowledge of first Steps that can be taken towards the vision.
If these three factors are stronger than the level of R = Resistance within an organization, then change can be achieved. Change leaders need to therefore ensure that greater effort is invested in raising dissatisfaction and communicating a strong vision, than on the reasons for resistance per se. Read More .. | |
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We hope that you have enjoyed reading 'Smart Business Thinking'.
One of the purposes of our communication is to provoke conversation. So if you have a comment or a reaction, share it with us at:
We look forward to hearing from you. |
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Sincerely,
The Agents2change Team |
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