The book More Fearless Change by Mary Lynn Manns and Linda Rising provides ideas for driving change in organizations, using the format of patterns. This book is an new and extended version of their successful book Fearless Change.
I did an interview with Mary Lynn and Linda about how people are viewing change in organizations, the purpose of patterns and the benefits that organizations can get from using them, the new patterns that are described in More Fearless Change and the insights were added to the existing patterns, and their expectations about what the future will bring us in organizational change. You can read it on InfoQ: Q&A on the Book More Fearless Change.
15 Quotes from More Fearless Change
Here’s a set of 15 quotes from the new patterns that have been added in More Fearless Change. I’m tweeting these quotes with #fearlesschange:
No matter how great your new idea is and how well prepared you are, you are bound to meet some level of resistance
Inspire people throughout the change initiative with a sense of optimism rather than fear
When you feel discouraged, look for the bright spots among the challenges that surround you
Displaying a warm smile and a willingness to be nice even when negativity surrounds you can go a long way
To make progress toward your goal, state precisely what you will do as you take the next baby step
To encourage adoption of a new idea, experiment with removing obstacles that might be standing in the way
Change the environment in a way that will encourage people to adopt the new idea
When you have a chance to introduce someone to your idea, you don’t want to stumble around for the right words to say
Persuasion tactics must consider what people are logically thinking as well as what they are feeling
By focusing on the future, individuals may be more motivated to let go of the past
Your change initiative is a series of baby steps
As you prepare to move forward, occasionally look for a quick and easy win that will have visible impact
Stay in touch with your supporters—never assume that news of your progress is known across the organization
Rumors need to be debunked before they take root and create significant concerns and anxieties during the change
You can’t spend time and energy addressing every bit of resistance you meet
Patterns can help you to drive change
If you want to truly change organizations, don’t try to plan it up front and don’t look for recipes. That won’t work (literally!). Patterns provide a useful format to convey ideas and to apply those ideas in a specific situation to do sustainable change.
Mary Lynn Manns and Linda Rising did a great job in this updated and extended version of Fearless Change. The experiences that they added to the existing patterns help you to get a deeper understanding, and the new patterns that they describe in this book are very valuable.
The patterns described in More Fearless Change help you to recognize situations and to come up with solutions for dealing with them. If you are dealing with change in organizations (and who isn’t nowadays) then I highly recommend to read this book and keep it close to you, as it will be useful at many times!
