Enterprise-Wide Change by Stephen G. Haines, Gail Aller-Stead & James McKinlay is the first book that I have reviewed where I have met the authors. According to the authors, the purpose of Enterprise-Wide Change is to “provide a comprehensive overview and practical details of the science, research, and practice of a Systems Thinking Approach to Enterprise-Wide Change to achieve superior human and business results.”

The book is organized into three sections – Part A provides an introduction to Systems Thinking, Part B provides practical applications to Enterprise-Wide Change and part C focuses on how to begin your Enterprise-Wide Change. The book is laid out very well and is easy to read. The authors tell you what they are going to tell you, they tell you and then they tell you what they just told you. The book is packed with a lot of very useful information, which shows their levels of skills and knowledge on the subject. One criticism is that I felt that the book could be a bit tighter, at least 50 pages shorter. The introductory section was nearly 100 pages long. Another criticism is that there are Think Differently sections interspersed throughout the book, which is a novel idea, but there are too many of them and the stories are so short that you cannot sink your teeth into them, so the intended impact is watered down.

What is Enterprise-Wide Change (EWC)? As defined by the authors, Enterprise-Wide Change is the altering of an organization, and is usually strategic, complex, large-scale, systemic and a laborious undertaking. Enterprise-Wide Change requires that each person, each team, in every department, in every relationship, in every project and process undergo some type of behavioural change – each at its own pace. “Organizations can change only when people change.” And, the winning formula for EWC is preparation, discipline, talent and persistence.

This book is packed with tools and models that you can use to help you achieve success in your change initiative. For example, Haines, Aller-Stead and McKinlay walk you through the Twelve Absolutes for Success in your EWC. You’ll understand the phases of The Systems Thinking Approach and what to do for each phase. Included is their Six Stages of the Rollercoaster of Change, which is their version of the change cycle. There are clear instructions on what to do at each stage of the change cycle. You see why pre-planning, clarity of purpose, strategic change annual review and so on are important for the success of the initiative.

They clearly explain why you should use systems thinking versus analytic thinking. In life, how you think, impacts how you act, which influences the results that you achieve. Using analytic thinking, you approach change piecemeal and look at the parts separately, which gives you a narrow focus on certain parts, which results in missed opportunities and you end up dealing with symptoms rather than root causes. If you apply the systems thinking approach, you approach change in a holistic manner, where all the parts are related and connected, which allows you to find broader, different and more creative answers, as well as the root causes, and you end up with better, longer-lasting solutions with fewer side effects.

Five Great Ideas

Thinking differently can lead to acting differently and achieving better results When dealing with complexity, for the best results, abandon analytic thinking and opt for the helicopter view or the 5,000 feet above the ground view to get a broader perspective. Analytic, piecemeal, and reductionist thinking resists considering multiple issues and their relationships at the same time or taking a larger view of entire systems Start with the end in mind – design the organization based on its ideal desired future vision Organizations are high-level living systems and change only when their subsystems (people, units, departments and groups) change their behaviours. People change at different rates and depths. When a large number of people within an organization change their behaviour in the same direction, organization change occurs What you focus on gets done. What you ignore sends a message to others that it isn’t important

I recommendEnterprise-Wide Change: Superior Results Through Systems Thinking by Stephen G. Haines, Gail Aller-Stead & James McKinlay for senior level managers and change management consultants, but I suggest that you start reading from the second section.

By: Avil Beckford

About the Author: