Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change

177 Pages·2003·6.17 MB·English

by  William Bridges

MANAGING 2nd Edition
Updated and
Expanded
TRANSITIONS
Other Books by William Bridges
Transitions
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MANAGING
2nd Edition
Updated and
Expanded
TRANSITIONS
Making the Most of Change
WILLIAM BRIDGES
Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their
products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book
and Da Capo Press was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been
printed in initial capital letters.
Copyright © 1991, 2003 by William Bridges and Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a re-
trieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechani-
cal, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2003103476
ISBN 0-7382-0824-8
Da Capo Press is a Member of the Perseus Books Group.
Find us on the World Wide Web at http://www.dacapopress.com
Perseus Publishing books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in
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tion, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group,
11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, or call [phone] or (617)
252-5298, or e-mail [e-mail].
Text design by Trish Wilkinson
Set in 11-point Adobe Garamond by Perseus Publishing Services
First printing, May 2003
5678910—06050403
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
PART ONE: THE PROBLEM
Chapter 1: It Isn't the Changes That Do You In 3
Chapter 2: A Test Case 11
PART Two: THE SOLUTIONS
Chapter 3: How to Get People to Let Go 23
Chapter 4: Leading People Through the Neutral Zone 39
Chapter 5: Launching a New Beginning 57
Chapter 6: Transition, Development, and Renewal 76
PART THREE: DEALING WITH NONSTOP CHANGE IN THE
ORGANIZATION AND YOUR LIFE
Chapter 7: How to Deal with Nonstop Change 99
PART FOUR: THE CONCLUSION
Chapter 8: A Practice Case 121
Chapter 9: Conclusion 137
Appendix A: Assessing Your Transition Readiness 143
Appendix B: Planning for Transition 146
Appendix C: Setting up a Transition Monitoring Team 148
Appendix D: Career Advice for Employees of
Organizations in Transition 151
Appendix E: The Leader's Role in Times of Transition 154
Index 159
About the Author 164
V
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Acknowledgments
When the first edition of this book was published, I acknowledged the help
that other consultants and workers in client organizations had given me when
I was learning how transition affects organizations and what can be done to
make transition less destructive. In the dozen years since the book was origi-
nally published, my associates and I have had the chance to refine our ap-
proach by helping several hundred organizations use transition management
strategies to smooth the path of their reorganizations, mergers, leadership
changes, culture shifts, and changes in strategy. And again, the people in those
organizations and their consultants were generous with their assistance—both
with the projects and with teaching me about the way transition can be not
only contained but even harnessed for growth.
Many of these projects and most of the public qualification seminars that
my firm conducted during those years were in the skilled hands of my two
longtime associates Chris Edgelow and Ruth Morton. They were two of the
first people I trained in the management of transition, and they both devel-
oped their own refinements on my original methods. I learned a great deal
from watching and listening to them.
For the past several years I have been rethinking my own work with indi-
viduals and organizations in transition. A major influence during this time has
been the work—and the simple presence—of my wife and business partner,
Susan Mitchell Bridges. She helped me see the role that coaching and consult-
ing can play in a practice previously based on training, and she also represents
the outcome of a profound transition in my own life. I am grateful for every-
thing that she has given me.
In our office, the business manager, Bonnie Carpenter, provided the solid
infrastructure and personal support that made our far-flung and constantly
evolving work go smoothly. I appreciate her help, especially since our own oper-
ations were themselves changing during that time. (We got a dose of our own
medicine, so I have some experience from the other side of the organizational-
transition desk.)
Vll
viii Acknowledgments
Jim Trupin has been my agent and friend for more than twenty years now,
and he steered this project to fulfillment, as he has all of my books during
those years.
In the first edition, I thanked my editor at Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, but (through one of those darned "organizational transitions"!) the
book has since migrated to Perseus Publishing. That brought me a new editor,
Marnie Cochran, a skilled professional who has been a pleasure to work with.
To all of these people, and the countless others who have been part of the
transition management projects my firm has worked with over the years, I
send my thanks.
Introduction
Diseases always attack men when they are exposed to change.
—HERODOTUS, GREEK HISTORIAN (FIFTH CENTURY B.C.)
I began my career teaching literature to undergraduates. Being twenty-five
years old at the time, I felt that I understood a number of things that my elders
didn't grasp. As a member of the college s Academic Policy Committee, I was
also in a position to put some of my ideas into action.
Being not too far beyond student status myself, I knew how depressing it
was to go to classes on Saturday. If you are old enough, you'll remember that
back in the sixties most colleges had Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes and
Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday classes. Students hated the latter, and some even
chose their majors on the basis of which fields did not require Saturday classes.
The case against the Saturday classes was so clear, I felt, that a person had
to be really stupid not to see it at a glance. First, many students skipped their
Saturday classes whenever possible, and that led to gaps in their knowledge at
the end of the term. Second, quite a few teachers hated them too. Third, Sat-
urday classes required that college buildings be kept lighted and heated for an
extra day every week. Fourth (and not unrelated to the third reason), the col-
lege president wanted to do away with Saturday classes. And finally, some sub-
jects naturally lent themselves to two longer classes, which could be grouped
on Tuesday and Thursday. Case closed, as far as I was concerned.
Some of the senior members of the Academic Policy Committee dis-
agreed. They wanted to know the actual percentage of students favoring the
change. ("Just about everyone" wasn't exact enough for them.) They spoke at
some length about how they had spent their undergraduate years taking classes
on Saturday, and it hadn't hurt them! ("Depends on how you define 'hurt,'"
whispered another young teacher beside me.)
Just as I was about to protest, one of my elders said with exasperation, "If
we shifted from three classes a week to two, I'd have to rewrite my lecture
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