[.uk] Fast Forward: Organizational Change in 100 Days (ISBN 0195153111)

Review by the Editor of Stern's Management Review:
The authors present a framework for rapid implementation of organizational change. They assert that creating understanding for the need for change, building momentum, and perhaps scoring some initial successes in the first 100 days greatly increases chances for success. Successful change calls for Winning Conditions, the book's core framework, consisting of: correct diagnosis of the change challenge; early development of shared understanding; enrichment of shared understanding; establishing a sense of urgency; creating a limited, focused, strategic agenda; rapid, strategic decision making and deployment; a human flywheel of commitment; identifying and managing sources of resistance; follow-through on changing organizational enablers; and demonstrated leadership commitment. Discussion and examples make this approach clear and show how it's applied. The authors are careful to distinguish between different types (or depths) of intervention. The book is outstanding in its scope and quality of thought. It is highly informative, gets to the meat of ideas clearly and quickly, and gives the reader solid value from start to finish.

Manage organizational change, and quickly:
The lessons Elspeth Murray and Peter Richardson wish to convey about organizational change are important, applicable and easy to sum up: If you want to change, do it quickly. The first 100 days are crucial. Build "speed, critical mass and intelligent momentum." Traditional models of decision making and strategic planning take too much time and contain far too many bottlenecks, making them inappropriate for the Information Age. The authors have done their research and they clearly explain the key elements of change and how to apply them to a range of situations. In fact, the authors do too good a job of emphasizing their main points: The book's drawback is its repetitiveness. We recommend that leaders who haven't yet managed a major change or those who wonder why their efforts have not succeeded read this book - especially the first half. Once you understand the core concepts, you may be able to read the rest less intently.

Going Fast Forward causes skipping:
I expect that in a business world that values speed over most things, Richardson & Murray's book would strike a sympathetic chord. Nonetheless, beyond the existence of a popular belief that the quicker the better is how business should be run, I know of no research which would substantiate the claims to this effect. Are the stories that are provided by the authors sufficient to confirm their statements? I think not. Business is always looking for the next fad, something that will make all the difference in as short a time as possible. Management authors and practitioners who collude in this misguided search for the Holy Grail do more harm than good. Organizations are successful in the long term if they engage employees' hearts, not if they focus on things and logic. This engagement and involvement, the establishment of a democratic community, are not attainable in 100 days - maybe multiples of a 100 days.