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Organizational Change in 100 Days

Elspeth J. Murray and Peter R. Richardson

Oxford UP, 2002

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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. getAbstract recommends 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.

Summary

The Challenge of Change

Most organizations aren’t good at change and are structurally unprepared for it. Information trickles down too slowly, and damaging rumors spread faster than actual details about management’s plans. Leaders fail to build support among the rank and file, so the employees don’t understand the change, or if they do, they don’t agree with it. The leaders then have no idea how to handle the opposition. They fail to follow up, offer no rewards to those who support the change and impose no penalties against those who don’t. Also, many companies lack focus. They can’t make hard strategic decisions and don’t commit resources to long-term goals; they pay attention only to day-to-day operations and use inappropriate metrics to evaluate success.

Different kinds of change require different strategies. Once upon a time, you could allow change to unfold gradually and adjust the organization’s direction during the annual budget process. Those days are over. Nowadays you must be able to change your organization’s direction and culture quickly. How quickly? If you’re not well under way in 100 days, you’re in trouble. Your mission during this crucial period is...

About the Authors

Elspeth J. Murray is an associate professor at Queen’s University, where she focuses on strategic management, especially new endeavors. Peter R. Richardson is a professor at Queen’s University and the author of Cost Containment: The Ultimate Strategic Guide.

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Organizational Change in 100 Days

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The Challenge of Change

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