A Powerful Look at Corporate Change and Why Mergers, Reorganizations, and Transformations Succeed or Fail
“[One of the] best business books of 2001 . . . [a] useful and intelligent tool for coping with the inevitable metamorphoses of business (and life).” —Miami Herald
“Provocative imagery . . . useful questions for managers to ask themselves.” —Harvard Business Review
“The Change Monster not only talks intelligently about the social dynamics and emotions of people [in change efforts], it does so with wisdom, insight, and practicality.”—Daniel Leemon, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, Charles Schwab Corporation
“A practitioner’s primer on revitalization that puts you in the shoes of some who have failed and others who have succeeded. In doing so, Jeanie Daniel Duck graphically delivers her main message to management: Learn to master the emotions and obsessions of those who stand in the way of change, including your own, and once you do, you have your hands on a miraculous engine for change.” —Michael Useem, professor of management and director of the Center for Leadership and Change at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Leadership Moment and Leading Up
“Duck is an acute and empathetic observer of the changes erupting in the workplace from the convulsive nature of corporate evolution. . . . Jeanie Duck’s terrific book is a . . . useful and intelligent tool for coping with the inevitable metamorphoses of business (and life). Sensitive but tough, Duck’s compassionate wisdom is street smart without a trace of glibness.” —Miami Herald
“Since any change effort--from merger to corporate reorganization--inevitably involves people, it’s hard to believe that no book has ever addressed this issue head-on. The Change Monster is all about the ‘hard part’ of strategy--getting the organization to internalize, commit to, and follow through with change. As Jeanie Duck well knows, even organizations that know they need to change often can’t get up the head of steam needed. The Change Monster not only talks intelligently about the social dynamics and emotions of people, it does so with wisdom, insight, and practicality. With Jeanie Duck’s book, managers now have a creative, powerful tool for understanding and dealing with this crucial subject.”
-- Daniel Leemon, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, The Charles Schwab Corporation
“Where else can you explore companies like Sisyphus Systems and FastMovingGoods or learn why Ennui International is mired in the past and Worldwide Frenzy is going nowhere fast? With scores of such tales from the consultant's trenches, Jeanie Duck offers a practitioner’s primer on revitalization. She puts you in the shoes of some who have failed and others who have succeeded, and in doing so graphically delivers her main message to management: Learn to master the emotions and obsessions of those who stand in the way of change, including your own, and once you do, you have your hands on a miraculous engine for change.”
-- Michael Useem, professor of management and director of the Center for Leadership and Change at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and author of The Leadership Moment