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Managing at the Speed of Change
Book

Managing at the Speed of Change

How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail

Daryl R. Conner
Random House, 1993
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

In part because author Daryl R. Conner applies common sense ideas, and in part because his ideas have spread throughout corporate culture, some aspects of this book may seem familiar. Conner would probably count that as a positive development, because one of his core premises is that change is exhausting and, therefore, you should try to make changes as palatable as possible to the people they will affect. Thomas Edison did this by making the first electric lights resemble the already-familiar gas fixtures. But even if you’ve heard all of this before, don’t underestimate the book’s usefulness. Conner’s theories may not surprise you, but he offers many immediately applicable tools for dealing with change, and he uses clear, expressive language to do so. Because you’ll learn several useful tips if you read even a few pages, getAbstract recommends this book to anyone guiding any kind of organization – family, nonprofit, business or school – through change.

Summary

The Changing World

The world is changing so quickly that no one remains unaffected by change, yet most people find change confusing, even overwhelming, and they have not developed the personal traits that would allow them to deal with it successfully.

Human beings have a basic need to control their environments, but change can disrupt your sense of control. In addition, everyone has a preferred pace at which he or she best integrates change. If change comes too fast to suit your natural rhythm, you will exhibit symptoms of dysfunction. You may feel intimidated, surprised, betrayed, emotionally unbalanced and even physically ill.

Think of these sorts of responses as “beasts” that are attacking your life. Defeat these beasts by learning how change works. It’s not a mystery; it progresses according to eight understandable principles. Seven of these concepts lead up to and support the primary principle: resilience.

Principle 1: “The Nature of Change”

In 1973, Alvin Toffler wrote a prescient book called Future Shock. These days, the entire culture suffers from a case of shock. Modern changes are larger, more complicated and faster than ever. In the past...

About the Author

Daryl R. Conner has been working as a consultant in the field of change management for 30 years. He is the author of Leading at the Edge of Chaos.

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