Reframing Organizations, 7th Edition

Chapter 19Reframing Change in Organizations

There is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor more dangerous to conduct, nor more doubtful in its success, than to set up as a leader in the introduction of changes. For he who innovates will have for his enemies all those who are well off under the existing order of things, and only the lukewarm support in those who might be better off under the new.

—Machiavelli, [1514] 1961, p. 27

Running for president in 2008, Barack Obama ran on a platform promising “change.” Running for reelection in 2012, he defended his record against Governor Mitt Romney's campaign promise of “change.” And so it goes in one presidential race after another. In the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton attempted a straddle, ...