Book Review: Managing Change in the Workplace

There are many books available that proclaim their ability to manage change. But seriously, can you really manage change? Change happens and when it does, it happens to people. Any time people are involved, a lockstep 1-2-3 approach to anything is simply is not going to work. So, when I am asked to review a process, procedure or book that seems to promises to do just that, I am always a bit skeptical.

Les Allan, the Managing Director of Business Performance Pty Ltd, writes on business and organizational change and he recently released the second edition of his book, Managing Change in the Workplace.

Change is a process and Les Allen notes that each and every one of us as either initiated change or been on the receiving end of a change. In the introduction Les states that "moving to a new way of working is inherently messy," and that "it is people - thinking and feeling people - that will carry through your change." He goes on to state that his guide, "will not provide you with a magic solution to the complexities and uncertainties" of change.

And that is where he had my attention.

Managing Change in the Workplaceis not your usual book on leading and managing change. The chapters sequentially move the reader through a change process and provide valuable information on understanding change,principles guiding successful change programs, the CHANGE Approach, managing resistance to change andmanaging change through projects and through teams.

The CHANGE Approach is the heart and soul of the guide and offers a "disciplined understanding of how organizations achieve real benefits through change." The phases of the CHANGE Approach are:

• Create tension. Articulate why change needs to happen
• Harness support. Get key stakeholder on board.
• Articulate goals. Define specific and measurable outcomes.
• Nominate roles. Assign responsibility to specific individuals.
• Grow capability. Build necessary systems and competencies.
• Entrench changes. Institutionalize the change.

Managing Change in the Workplace is different from other guides because it is packaged with a reusable and customizable change program workbook. Regardless of where a reader is in planning or implementing a change process, or how comfortable they feel in leading change, there is something in the guide for them.

Readers can scan the chapters and pick out the chapter or section that interest them the most.They can use all or part of the workbook.They can tailor this guide to their needs and the needs of their supervisors or team members. As reader works through the guide and workbook, they actually are able to apply the lessons learned to their current change program.

Managing Change in the Workplace is a solid, practical guide from beginning to middle to endfor anyone embarking on a change initiative for the first time, wanting a refresher on the change process, or facing resistance to change and definitely worth a look.

Book Review: Final Exam

I have to admit, physicians are a bit larger than life to me.

I get medical school, years of learning, tons of debt, putting your pants on one leg at a time. . .  yada, yada, yada. Still, there is something about the white coat, the bedside manner, the potential of another person being able to heal what ails me that draws my attention. Was it this, my biology background, my position in a medical center, or something else that made me pick up, put down and ultimately use my Barnes and Noble 15% off coupon and membership discount on a book about mortality written by a surgeon?

Final Exam is a compelling read that captures a struggle of the human condition (my new favorite phrase.) Vintage introduces the book and begins their reader's guide in this fashion, "In Final Exam, Pauline Chen tells the story of her own medical education and the many crucial experiences with patients that lead her to become a more empathic, more compassionate and more patient oriented doctor. 'I never intended, ' Chen writes, 'to make my living among the dying.' She began her medical career with dreams of saving lives but found very quickly that death would be a constant, though largely unacknowledged companion."

Did you know that one-quarter of oncologists failed to tell their patients that they had incurable cancer, that they deny the reality of the condition, that they are not ok "doing nothing," even in the face of something that is absolutely, no doubt about it, beyond their control? They are not bad people, bad physicians, bad surgeons. As a matter of fact, they are some of the best, the brightest and the most compassionate professionals in health care who may not be fully aware that their detailed plans, multi-leveled algorithms and myriad of medical rituals they begin to learn from Day 1 of medical school may not fully prepare them for complex realities of what they will encounter.

Chen's stories and personal accounts provided me with a glimpse into a world I would not ordinarily see and that was very interesting. That, however, was not what kept me turning the pages. It was Pauline's honesty, her insights into both the benefits and limitations of rituals and more than anything, her willingness to look beyond the institution, to question what was right for her and ultimately, to follow her heart.

At the very end of Final Exam, Chen writes, “I had comforted my patient and his family. I had eased their suffering. I had been present for them during life and despite death. I had caught a glimpse of the doctor I could become.” 

She had me from very beginning and I could not let go until the very end.

Book Review: Success For Hire

There is a new book in town and it is a good one.  Simply put, Alexandra Levitt delivers. Alexandra brings her experiences and expertise to her newly released book, Success For Hire where she provides a 9-step guide to finding and keeping outstanding employees.

From carefully analyzing your position from both a business and cultural perspective to conducting a strong interview and making a job offer, Alexandra provides a practical road map with nuggets of wisdom along the way:

• When requiring a certain number of years of experience, quantify what a person  will be able to deliver as a result of that experience (page 7) 
• Understand your own problem-solving and decision-making process to know how any new employee can complement your strengths and cover your weaknesses (page 11)
• ALL of Chapter 3, Narrow the Field of Applicants: Assess Where They've Been and Where They're Going and the  lost art of reading a resume.

Wait, there is more. Alexandra takes you through making the job offer and developing a positive first impression at new employee orientation and leaves you charged and ready for action as she dishes out retention strategies.

This is an excellent desk top reference for entry level HR professional and supervisors. If Alexandra should ever happen to convert Chapters 3 - 5 into a supervisor training module (hint, hint), I am on it.

Are you ready to put an end to "desperation hiring?" This is the book for you!

Book Review: Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most

The way your employees feel is the way your customers feel.

These eleven words sum up the bottom line of a newly released book by author Sybil F. Stershic, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most. A Guide to Employee-Customer Care. 

Ms. Stershic, an internal marketing expert with over 30 years experience, provides a guide to impacting two critical relationships: the relationship between employees and customers and the relationship between employees.

How does she do it? She lays out a road map and provides a audits, actions plans and numerous examples of what other successful companies are doing. One that caught my attention is the Marriott Hospitality Gold Star Program described in the chapter, "Strengthening the Internal Service Culture." In it, guests are randomly selected and asked to identify the hotel associate they found most helpful. These associates, and the guests who recognized them, are both rewarded. But the program does not stop there. Rewarded staff are then asked to identify three associates from the "heart of the house" (i.e. those behind the scenes) who were most helpful to them and these associates are rewarded too. Super!

Wondering how your employees feel about your organization, department or team? Ask them. Probe with questions such as:

• Why are you working here rather than another company?
• What would cause you to end your employment here?
• What drives you crazy about working here?

This book is a great resource for HR professionals, internal marketing managers, and supervisors who want to make a difference within their company, department or team. Regardless of your perspective or the state of your internal marketing efforts, you are sure to find a tool, tip, or golden nugget that can assist you in taking another step forward in your efforts.

This book is on tour and hitting the web. The tour started with Burns Blogs Attitude and made its way here. It will continue with a different stop around the web each day:

• On June 4th, Chris Bailey will be posting a review on his blog Bailey Work/Play: The Alchemy of Soulful Work
• On June 5th, Toby Bloomberg of the Diva Marketing blog will be posting an interview with Sybil.
• On June 6th, Becky Carroll, the blogger behind Customers Rock! will be posting a review and the results of an interview with Sybil.
• On June 9th, Paul Hebert will be posting a review on the blog Incentive Intelligence.
• On June 10, 2008, Phil Gerbyshak will be posting an interview on the blog Slacker Manager.

Check in with these hosts throughout the week. More information about this new book is available on the WME Books blog, the book page on the WME online store and at the Quality Service Marketing blog. 

Book Review: Warriors, Workers, Whiners and Weasels

It's okay to whine occasionally.

It is. Really. Tim O'Leary says so. He does. Right there on page 142 of his new book, Warriors, Workers, Whiners and Weasels. His book is a guide to understanding yourself and others, and using this knowledge to increase the overall effectiveness of yourself and those around you.

Tim's writing style is straightforward, easy to read and right to the point. The four distinct personalities are very descriptive and you simply cannot read them without trying to identify yourself and your fellow co-workers in each category!

• Warriors are "usually charming, and invigorating, they are also self-centered intolerant, hot-tempered, domineering, highly critical, and often driven to the point of seeming distraction." 
• Weasels have "no regard for honesty, relationships, long-term credibility, or friendships." 
• Workers around you "take responsibility for their actions and pride in their achievements.
• Whiners let their "negativity and dissatisfaction overshadow performance."

These one line descriptions offer only a mere peek into the world of warriors, workers, whiners and weasels. Tim devotes chapters to each of the 4 W's offering full profiles, insights into motivation, tips, tools, signs to watch for and rules to live by.

Tim modestly refers to the 4 W's as "a simple classification system." Yet, the 4 W's is a simple classification system that provides value. Value because this concept was developed and refined by the author while "running real companies and working with real people in real-life settings." Value because it reaffirms "what you already innately understand." Value because it provides an opportunity to learn from the experiences, and missteps, of others.

A true Warrior at heart, Tim takes the time to reflect on what he has learned. For me, Part Six, Wrapping Up is what distinguished this book from others. Tim puts his shield aside and talks from the heart, from his heart, about balance, ego management, taking responsibility for your life and carrying lessons learned forward. Yes, sometimes taking "the next step forward . . . actually means taking a step backwards." 

What do you want from your life? What do you want to achieve? Whatever it is, "it is your responsibility to take the control." And, Tim O'Leary offers you a set of tools, and insights, to guide you.

Hey, don't let the Weasels get you down!

A "Brazen" Career Perspective

I am recruiting and hiring employees who were born when I was in high school. Never thought I'd see the day, but yes, here it is, here they are and here I am fortunate enough to interact with them every day. And I am loving it. I am lucky enough to have an awesome HR intern fresh out of law school, a student from the local technical college gaining work experience while finishing her degree and one or two staff members under the age of 30. They are young and they have ideas different than my own. They bring a fresh energy and perspective to what we do each day.

I am interested in work life from the perspective of younger workers and I am interested in new perspectives on every day work life issues to ponder to help me to break out of this rut I think I am in.  Well, I found both in Penelope Trunk's  new book, Brazen Careerist.

The chapters and rules I enjoyed the most are:

Do Your Own Work Last. Rule # 17 provides advice to new managers to help them avoid the typical pitfalls and not be a general nightmare to work for. Could probably use this advice for some experienced managers as well for a little grounding :)

Playing Office Politics and Other Acts of Kindness chapter actually puts a positive spin on one thing many people dread. Penelope expands on this thought in her Nine Biggest Workplace Myths when she states in Myth # 4 (which I absolutely love!): 

• Office politics is about backstabbing.

  The people who are most effective at office politics are people who are genuinely nice. Office politics is about helping people to get what they want. This means you have to take the time to figure out what someone cares about, and then think about how you can help him or her to get it. You need to always have your ears open for when you can help. If you do this, you don’t have to strong arm people or manipulate them. Your authentic caring will inspire people to help you when you need it.

Don't Be the Hardest Worker chapter supports a "happy medium in order to perform the best" and taking the time to think and the chapter that follows, Getting a Promotion is so Last Century, really hit home for me. This chapter validated much of my recent thoughts as I weigh out my devotion to my family with career advancement, and conversations about mommy tracks, reentry in to a workforce if one should decide to step off the fast track, yada, yada.

I do have to say that Rule #28, Use Harassment to Boost Your Career , caught my interest from an HR perspective but I soon realized after reading Penelope's example that I did just that, rather successfully, as a female Army officer in a predominately male maintenance battalion. HR hat back on again, I am here to help and when you find that you cannot rein it in yourself, please come see me.

Brazen Careerist is a quick read, packed with tons of fresh ideas. I recommend it highly!