Author Conner runs one of the foremost consulting firms devoted exclusively to change. He is experienced, and has an easy writing style, allowing you to completely focus on what he says rather than hammering through loads of hype, meaningless acronyms and technical gobbledygook. He explains clearly why change initiatives often don't seem to stay in place after the initial implementation of the change. He then offers sound recommendations on the roles and responsibilities required to execute changes, along with the various pros and cons of different infrastructures for those roles.
Conner illustrates that each of us moves through our lives at our own speed of change, and how we have the ability to enhance our skills by understanding the uniqueness of people who have effectively dealt with change. These people have a vast amount of flexibility, differentiated by being extremely focused, highly resilient, well organized, and very proactive. When people like this work within the configuration of change, leading others through the eight models in the organizational change process, constructive results are bound to happen.
This is definitely a powerful, five-star book, and one that I have no hesitation putting on my personal list of the top "must read" books for IT professionals and project managers at all levels.
Conner explains why so many change initiatives don't seem to "stick" after the initial roll out of the change. He offers some concrete recommendations on the roles required to execute a change, and the pros and cons of different organizational structures for those roles.
Another interesting concept he introduces is that there is an extra cost associated with being "surprised that we are surprised." During the course of a change, unexpected events occur -- if we are expecting to be surprised, we are better able to absorb the events even if we don't know what they are in advance. This is a strong argument for communicating early and frequently to an organization before and during the change process, rather than holding off until every tiny detail of the change has been worked out.