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5.0 out of 5 stars
This process really works -- the book shows you how!, Sep 3 2001
Relevant to my review is the fact that I was fortunate enough to intern with Kathie Dannemiller 20 years ago, when she was developing and applying her processes to improving student services at the University of Michigan. With this perspective, I can really appreciate the value of Whole-Scale Change, and attest to the reader about its value, as I have personally experienced it.The book is full of the authors' collective wisdom, and rich material that walk the reader through their model for changing the whole organization. Their concept of "One Mind, One Heart" is a great metaphor for getting everyone in an organization aligned with Purpose, and is really the "magic" behind Whole Scale Change. When everyone is aligned, the entire organization pulls together in support of each other to achieve its purpose. Another huge benefit of Whole Scale Change is that the organization automatically achieves team building at the same time it is re-creating itself. Organizational development practitioners and human resources professionals should be very interested in this book. Add to that any management consultants who are trying to effect a "culture change." For those who would like to apply this process -- your own personal style & integrity are so fundamental to successes that unless you can "walk the talk," don't even try it. Loving the work more than the money is a fundamental concept that a practitioner would have to have. Kathie Dannemiller especially is so real with clients that it helps them overcome barriers to openness, and enables the magic to happen. A few other key concepts that resonate throughout the book:
"Action Learning" is another way of saying you have to "trust the process" to get the right results, even though the steps to get there might change along the way. Life is like that. Remember that in large-scale organization change, none of this has been done with these people, under these conditions, which means you will have to also make adjustments in real-time (also known as "improvisation") to deal with realities and learnings from the group events. Whole Scale Change does an excellent job by allowing for this, and cites many examples to show what it looks like. Also, "Everyone's truth is the truth" - to believe this you have to have a sincere & abiding respect for people - that may not be possible for every organization's leaders, which will limit the results. The book includes excellent references for further reading, and also great discussions on how Whole Scale was influenced by other practitioners (a thinking bibliography) were very valuable.
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