The Dance of Change

March 15, 1999
Management innovations such as quality circles, TQM teams, and reengineering efforts are but blips in the collective corporate consciousness at many organizations. The challenge of managing change is to maintain momentum and not fall back to an earlier way of doing things after the facilitators and the consultants have left. With help from colleagues, Senge, who himself was the impetus for organizational transformation when he spelled out his concept of the learning organization in "The Fifth Discipline" (1990), addresses the problem of how to sustain change. Using a "field guide" format similar to that which these same authors used in "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook" (1994), they identify 10 specific challenges to implementing and maintaining change. Utilizing exercises, techniques, examples, and guideposts, the authors show how to respond to those who bemoan a lack of time, question the relevance of a new initiative, or exhibit fears and anxieties about making a change. Many organizations, regardless of the degree of change they face, will be able to put this highly practical advice to good use. ((Reviewed March 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)