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Change or Die How to Transform Your Organization from the Inside Out
Book Code: C8405
ISBN: 0-275-98405-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98405-2
112 pages, chart, table
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 11/30/2005
List Price: $26.95 (UK Sterling Price: £14.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Paperback Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • Dealy, senior vice president of transportation for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, highlights the key qualities of change agents who challenge the status quo. He outlines techniques for embracing conflict, managing risk, and developing new change agents, and demonstrates how corporate leaders can encourage and reward this behavior. Co-author Andrew R. Thomas teaches international business at the University of Akron.
    —Reference & Research Book News
    May 2006
  • Endorsement From John P. Rathbone
    Executive Vice-President Administration
    Norfolk Southern Coroporation:
    Change - Or Die! is the right book at the right time about one of the most critical issues facing almost every company today - how to constantly adapt and change while maintaining a laser-sharp focus.
  • Endorsement From Jim Schultz
    Senior Vice President, Employee and Customer Engagement
    Waste Management Inc.:
    'Change' is the one constant in our lives. M. David Dealy and Andrew Thomas 'get it,' and they help the rest of us 'get it,' too. Successfully transforming any organization takes leadership from within. I have made this book mandatory reading for my team, and recommend it to anyone who wants to make change work as a positive in their organization.
Description: For every business, the choice is stark: "Change--or die." At any moment, fully two-thirds of America's companies claim to be in the midst of some type of organizational revamping. We don't need research from the Harvard Business School (even though it has been conducted) to tell us that most of these initiatives will fail. The business landscape is littered with the carcasses of giants who were unable to adapt to change--Digital, Prime, Wang, and Polaroid, to name a few. What many companies fail to recognize is that organizational change needs to come from within, no matter how profound the external forces. Positive change requires "change agents" throughout the organization--those individuals who can translate the strategic vision of leaders into pragmatic behavior. They will be the early adopters of the new values, actions, and skills required by the company. This book identifies the qualities of great change agents and how these skills can be mastered to serve as a catalyst for change throughout the organization. Illustrating these principles through examples from world-class organizations, Dealy and Thomas demonstrate the techniques for acquiring and executing those skills-and how corporate leaders can encourage and reward this behavior, creating a culture of risk-taking, innovation, and a focus on the future. From seasoned executives to entry-level employees, readers will learn that great change agents: * challenge the status quo; * stoke the fire of creativity; * embrace the necessity of conflict; * manage risk rather than avoid it; and * develop new change agents. Bringing the process of change out of the realm of the analysts and consultants and to the front lines, the authors show you how to thrive in a world that demands nothing less than continuous change.
Table of Contents:
  • The Inevitability of Change
  • The Great Change Mistakes
  • The Change Agent Solution
  • Change Agents Challenge the Status Quo
  • Change Agents Embrace Conflict
  • Change Agents Manage Risk, Not Avoid It
  • Change Agents Stoke the Fire of Creativity
  • Change Agents Help Create New Change Agents
  • Change Expectations and the New MBA
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • About the Authors
LC Card Number: 2005019181
LCC Class: HD58
Dewey Class: 658
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