Product Description

Directed at managers and employees in today's corporations, where change is necessary to revitalize and improve corporate performance, this guide addresses the fact that it is people that have to carry out the change. It not only talks about what should be done, but also shows how to do it, giving managers practical ways to bring everybody "on board". Armed with this new information, managers will look at future changes in a new way, no longer anxious and hopeless, but rather looking at the opportunities. Wherever an organization makes a change, its people have to deal with: first, an ending; then, with a time in between the old and new that Bridges calls "the neutral zone"; and then, with a new beginning. William Bridges, talks about what is going on inside the people who have to make the change work; and provides a sense of the emotional impact of change, and what can be done to keep it from disrupting the entire organization.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #904619 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"A valuable and useful step-by-step handbook for a range of practitioners and specialists who are involved with change in their companies." People Management

"Robert Levy, Personnel Manager, Hewlett-Packard.
"Bill Bridges has attacked an area of managing change that many not only avoid, but also do not even recognise - the human side of change. This is a valuable contribution.

About the Author
William Bridges PhD is an internationally renowned consultant on work transitions - "the guru of the dejobbed workplace," as Across the Board called him. He travels widely to speak, lead workshops and consult with corporations. His clients include Pacific Bell, Intel, Procter & Gamble, Shell and McDonnell Douglas Astronautics. The Wall Street Journal has ranked him among the top ten independent executive development specialists in the United States.

Customer Reviews

Best book I've read on change
I was recommended this book by a friend. This is one of the best books on change on the market. William Bridges has taken the method for mediating used by marriage counselling professionals and used it for business. And it works. Will allow managers to take a company through major transitions and covers how important communication is during this difficult times.

Durable Insights...Practical Suggestions
I read this book when it was first published (1991) and recently re-read it, curious to see how well Bridges' ideas have held up since then. They remain rock-solid. His objective is to suggest how to "make the most of change" and heaven knows there have been so many major changes, both global and local, in recent years. I expect the nature and number of such turmoil to increase significantly, and, to occur at an ever-accelerating velocity. I also expect Bridges' observations and suggestions to remain valid. Perhaps at some point he will revise this book to accommodate certain changes such as the emergence of what Pink calls "the free agent nation." The book's materiel is carefully organized within four Parts:

The Problem [Bridges provides "a new and useful perspective on the difficulties ahead" and then a test case which illustrates that perspective]

The Solutions [Bridges suggests all manner of ways to apply what is learned from the previous Part]

Dealing with Nonstop Change in the Organization and Your Life [Bridges suggests a number of strategies by which to cope with rapid change, both organizationally and personally]

In 1991, Bridges was convinced that it is impossible to achieve any desired objectives without getting to "the personal stuff"; the challenge is to get people to stop doing whatever "the old way" and that cannot be accomplished impersonally. He was also convinced that transition management requires experience and abilities we already possess as when we struggle, for example, to "figure out a tactful response in a difficult situation." However, the strategies of transition management he suggests may require mastery of certain techniques which we "can easily learn." Presumably Bridges remains convinced today of these same basic points even as new applications and (yes) complications have revealed themselves.

For whom will this book be most valuable? Given the nature and extent of organizational change, I would include everyone engaged (voluntarily or involuntarily) in those changes...at least everyone at the management level. Also, service providers such bankers, attorneys, accountants, bankers, executive recruiters, and management consultants such as I who are directly associated with those organizations. On several occasions, Drucker has brilliantly discussed the challenge of managing a future which has already occurred but perhaps has not as yet been recognized. I agree with him that that is indeed a major challenge. One of Bridges' key points seems to be that it is not only possible but imperative to manage effectively the transition from a current situation to a desired destination. It is not always possible to "manage change" but I agree with Bridges that it IS possible to formulate and then manage an appropriate response to it. Those who share my high regard for this book are encouraged to read (if they have not already done so) Bridges' previous work, Transitions, as well as O'Toole's Leading Change, Katzenbach's Real Change Leaders, and finally, The Manager as Change Agent co-authored by Quatro, Hoekstra, Whittle, Gilley, and Maycunich.

practical and well thought through techniques
This is one of the best books I have read on change management, which separates it from the dirth of publications which flood the market which don't offer anything new. A truly excellent publication.

It is primarily suited to those working in delivering change. I would also recommend it as a guide to sponsors, managers and team leaders, to understand what change feels like and compare their own experiences with those in other organisations. William Bridges writes from experience and this is very much a practical guide, suggesting techniques appropriate at each stage of change.

This publication is relatively light on the theory behind change. This is to its advanatge, however for those coming to these theories for the first time, it is best read in conjunction with a partner text which can provide more background to change and particularly the stages of change.