Taking Charge of Change: 10 Principles for Managing People and Performance

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Summary: Focus on performance, not change
Review: Four out of five change efforts fail. Why? Because the efforts focus on change for the sake of change. Most adults don't want to risk learning and doing things differently if they do not see a clear and compelling link between their efforts and performance outcomes that matter to customers, shareholders, and themselves in terms of rewards, skills and opportunities. I wrote this book as a guide to leaders who are serious about performance as the reason for putting themselves and their people through the wrenching challenge of change. This is the only book you will read that actually guides you about how to manage during the period of change itself. Nearly all other books help you describe the change you wish to bring about. But they don't help you make that change happen. If you read and use this book, combined with my book Make Success Measurable!, you will deliver both performance and change that matters.

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Summary: An Excellent How To Guide on Managing/Creating Change.
Review: I found the book to be extremely informative. Douglas Smith has done a masterfull job of creating a step by step guide for the process of both Creating and Managing Change in any organization. He also points out why many Change Efforts fail. The 10 step guide that he has created should help us all avoid the common pitfalls of this process and help greatly improve our odds of success. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is either thinking about starting a change effort or currently in the midst of one now.

Rating:
Summary: Some good ideas, but not the best.
Review: This is a good book, but it is not one of the best. Get copies of Kotter, Schein, Beitler, or Collins' books.

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Summary: The best hand-on book about Change Management available.
Review: This is clearly the best book about the practical side of Change Management I've read so far (and I've read more then 20 by now). This book really helps me in my day-to-day work as a Change Manager. Smith has closed a big gap in the Change Management literature, this is the most practical book you can look for! Highly recommended.