Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas

Rating:
Summary: My best book of the year 2004
Review: While rapid change has always been a fundamental component of the computing field, recent changes have been far more substantial and difficult to deal with. In the past, changes were generally things like the introduction of a new language or a change in the structure of an old language. While these were difficult, experienced IT workers grew to accept them as part of the job.
However, the recent changes are far more significant and often differences in kind rather than differences in degree. Previously, collaboration between programmers could usually be handled by a gathering in a meeting room. Now, with the globalization of a project, organizing a collaboration literally is a difference between night and day. While it is daytime for some of the workers, for those on the other side of the world it is nighttime. There are also cultural, social and language differences to be factored into the communication protocols. Writing the source code is constantly shrinking as a relative percentage of the effort needed to create a software package. Developers are being forced to learn more about the business side and need to talk intelligently and persuasively about return on investment, time to market and profit/loss expectations.
Manns and Rising describe fundamental methods that can be used to introduce change into an organization without having the cure be worse than the disease. As the presence of the word "patterns" in the title indicates, these are not specific recommendations for particular types of changes. They are general formulas for smoothly transitioning a social and political structure from one systemic belief to another. Since organizations are group entities where everyone shares some common beliefs and practices and those beliefs and practices cannot be changed by a mere decree, Manns and Rising provide advice that can aid nearly all companies. Generally, the effectiveness of the aid will rise with the size of the company, as clearly small one or two-person companies can probably introduce change easily.
The solution to most problems faced by a company is to modify a process within that company. Since the changes in IT organizations have increased in magnitude over the last few years, this has grown more difficult. Manns and Rising show you how to prepare the ground for the change, which is the first step in solving most problems. I ranked it the best book of the year 2004 in my best books of the year column for the online "Journal of Object Technology."

Rating:
Summary: Effective, practical ways to successfully effect change...
Review: Have you ever wondered how to effectively introduce new ideas in your organization and get them to fly? Wonder why some people effortlessly get buy-in on their ideas while you struggle? Mary Lynn Manns, Ph. D. and Linda Rising, Ph. D. reveal some of those secrets in the book Fearless Change - Patterns For Introducing New Ideas (Addison Wesley).

Chapter list:
Part 1 - Overview: Organizations and Change; Strategies or Patterns; Where Do I Start?; What Do I Do Next?; Meetings and More; Take Action!; It's All About People; A New Role: Now You're Dedicated!; Convince The Masses; More Influence Strategies; Keep It Going; Dealing with Resistance
Part 2 - Experiences: Multiple Sclerosis Society Experience Report; UNCA Experience Report; Sun Core J2EE Patterns Experience Report; Customer Training Experience Report
Part 3 - The Patterns
Appendix; References; Index

I'd have typed in each of the patterns, but that would have put me over Amazon's word limit on reviews! :-)

The concept of "patterns" involve finding a practice, or a method of doing something that is successful and can be applied to multiple situations. This is similar to the use of patterns in programming, where you use a particular type of program structure to solve a problem, knowing that the architecture and process has been proven to work in multiple settings. Manns and Rising use this pattern concept to show how you can successfully push new ideas through in an organization without making mistakes that will derail you before you even get started.

For instance, "Location, Location, Location" talks about how moving to a off-site area (or a very nice area) can limit distractions and also show the group how important the idea is. "Guru On Your Side" helps you understand how cultivating a guru who likes your idea can help smooth the path as others in the organization will be more willing and ready to accept the idea from them. A "Champion Skeptic" pattern is to bring in a person who may be less than thrilled with your idea, but is willing to talk about why and help you make it a better one. There are a total of 49 patterns you can utilize during all phases of an idea or project, but I think you can get the idea where the value in this book lies.

As everyone is involved in selling their ideas at some point, this book will be important to just about everyone across an organization. If you want to be more effective in getting people to follow you when things change (or need to), reading this book will get you there.

Rating:
Summary: These patterns will work for you!
Review: I was in a situation where I couldn't get anyone to listen to my ideas, much less try them out. I used some of these patterns, and lo! my coworkers and managers got interested, and some of my ideas were adopted. If you can see ways your team or organization could work better, but you can't get any traction in getting your ideas across, the information in this book will put you on the right road.

This book isn't only for managers. Even if you're a small cog in a big wheel, using the techniques in this book, you can effect change that will benefit your team. With this book as a reference, you won't feel like you're wandering into the wilderness; you'll have proven techniques to guide you. Keep it handy, because you'll go back to it again and again!

Rating:
Summary: Understanding How to Make Change Happen
Review: In addition to excellent, well written, patterns that tell you what to do, this books is full of stories that help you to understand how to use the patterns to influence people, overcome roadblocks, and spread new ideas. Anyone who has new ideas to share will benefit from this book including: Managers and Team members, Professionals and Volunteers, people in industry and those in community organizations. This book is one that I will reference frequently and share with others.