Rapid Organizational Change

Book description

A new lean and agile model for more effective change management

Rapid Organizational Change gets right to the heart of the change initiative problem, and offers a time- and money-saving solution. The fact that so many change initiatives fail or underperform can be traced back to one major issue: pace. While most change management models stress the importance of timeliness, they remain bound to an organization-wide approach to execution.. By targeting change efforts at specific mid-level layers of management, this book helps you achieve the desired outcome more efficiently while saving time, effort and money. Full of practical advice and real-world examples, this book is your action guide to making change happen in a meaningful way. You'll learn how to continually develop great leadership at the institutional level, and gain real, actionable guidance on putting more women in management positions to help you grab that competitive advantage. 

Today's disruptive technologies and macro-economic patterns have elevated organizational agility to the rank of survival skill. Change is a constant in business, but it's now coming faster than ever; this book gives you the strategies you need to keep from being left behind.

  • Target mid-level managers for faster change
  • Institute perpetual leadership development outside of HR
  • Correct gender inequality in management positions
  • Utilize your best resources to gain competitive advantage

Most change management models have the same inherent problem: by the time new processes and strategies trickle down to every manager and staff member, the opportunity has passed and the change can no longer be effective for its intended purpose. Rapid Organizational Change lays out a new shortcut to help your organization stay out in front.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Preface
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. About the Author
  6. CHAPTER 1: The Refraction Layer
    1. What is Refraction Anyway?
    2. Leadership Proximity Trumps Leadership Rank
    3. Layers of Sedimentary Rock
    4. Dearth of Leadership Bench
    5. Eliminating Refraction
    6. Japan as a Crucible
  7. CHAPTER 2: The Myth of Uniqueness
    1. Busting the Galapagos Myth
    2. National Culture Tempers Behavior but Company Culture Determines Behavior
    3. What Makes People Tick—Even the Japanese!
    4. The Problem is not the Local Culture—It's your Company's Culture!
    5. Sucking Air through Teeth: The Big Deal about Risk and Failure in Japan
    6. Where's the Bushido? Finding the Inner Warrior
  8. CHAPTER 3: Growth‐Oriented Thinking – The Key to Anti‐Refraction
    1. Action over Perfection
    2. Viewing Failure as Learning
    3. Desire for Personal Growth
    4. Comfort with Ambiguity
    5. How Can You Tell?
    6. The Resilient Manager
  9. CHAPTER 4: The Zen of Hiring
    1. Hire the Three W's: The Worldly, the Weird, and Women
    2. The Worldly: English Ability Is Great, but It's the Mindset That Counts!
    3. The Weird: Tall Poppies and Protruding Nails
    4. Salarywoman
    5. Gaijin and Other Red‐Bearded Devils—Like Me!
    6. Loyalty Is Overrated; It's Disloyal People You Want!
  10. CHAPTER 5: Breaking the Iron Rice Bowl
    1. Heisei Restoration
    2. Not Lifetime Employment—Lifetime Employable
    3. Pro Forma Meritocracies and Other Sesame Grinders
    4. Windowsill Gangs
  11. CHAPTER 6: From Process‐Driven Thinking to Thinking‐Driven Process
    1. Shifting to Outcome‐Orientation, not just “Gambarimasu!”
    2. I am a Cat, and Curiosity Does Not Kill Me
    3. Innovation, Shminnovation
    4. The Shminnovation Gap
    5. Constructive Disharmony—the Wa of Confrontation
  12. CHAPTER 7: Eliminating Performance Gaps
    1. Identifying and Treating Cause
    2. Steve's Three E's of Performance Gap Treatments: Education, Enlightenment, and Empowerment
    3. Performance Improvement Decision Tree
  13. CHAPTER 8: They Got It Wrong! It's NOT a Marathon, but Lots of Sprints!
    1. The Strategy Sprint
    2. Innovation Sprint
    3. Business Case Sprint
    4. Personal Growth Sprint
  14. CHAPTER 9: Perpetual Leadership Bench
    1. Mentor Culture
    2. Encourage Failure
    3. Pride and Arrogance are not the Same Thing: The Real Role of Humility
    4. From Refraction Layer to Hunger for Success
  15. Index
  16. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Rapid Organizational Change
  • Author(s): Steven Bleistein
  • Release date: August 2017
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119219033