Managing Transitions

The business world is a place of constant change, with stories of mergers, layoffs, bankruptcy, and restructuring appearing in the news every day. No matter the scale, when these kinds of changes hit the workplace, the concrete situational shifts are often not as difficult for employees and managers to work through as the psychological transitions that accompany them. Organizational transitions affect people; it is always people who have to embrace a new situation and carry out the corresponding changes.

Without a clear understanding of what transition does to employees and what employees in transition can, in turn, do to an organization, the job of managing workplace change can be difficult. Managed poorly, the result can be disastrous for morale and stability. As veteran business consultant William Bridges explains in detail, successful organizational change takes place when employees have a purpose, a mental picture, a plan for, and a part to play in change. In short, successful change takes place only when employees are "on board" with it.

Directed at managers on all rungs of the corporate ladder, this thoroughly updated and expanded edition of the best selling Managing Transitions provides practical, step-by-step strategies for reaching goals and minimizing the disruptions caused by workplace change. It is an invaluable managerial tool for navigating an inevitably tumultuous time.