Mastering Change - Introduction to Organizational Therapy

by Ichak Kalderon Adizes

Mastering Change – Introduction to Organizational Therapy is a revised and updated version of Dr. Ichak Adizes’ original book released in 1992. Filled with new concepts and content, readers will learn Dr. Adizes’ Universal Applied Theory on how to lead change for exceptional results with collaborative leadership. This book provides a paradigm shift in how to successfully manage for exceptional, sustainable, results.

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2016

About the author

Ichak Adizes is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading management experts. Over the course of more than 40 years, he has developed and refined a proprietary methodology that enables corporations, governments, and complex organizations to accomplish exceptional results and manage accelerated change without destructive conflicts. Leadership Excellence Journal named him one of the Top 30 Thought Leaders in the United States, and Executive Excellence Journal put him on their list of the Top 30 Consultants in America.

In recognition of his contributions to management theory and practice, Dr. Adizes has received 14 honorary doctorates, is a Fellow of the International Academy of Management and has been made an honorary citizen of two Eastern European countries. He also received the 2010 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is awarded by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation for contributions to humanity.

Dr. Adizes has served as a tenured faculty member at UCLA; was a visiting professor at Stanford, Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities; and taught at the Columbia University Executive Program. He also served as Dean of the Adizes Graduate School for the Study of Leadership and Change, and is currently an academic advisor to the Graduate School of Management of the Academy of National Economy of the Russian Federation.

Dr. Adizes is founder and president of the Adizes Institute, based in Santa Barbara, California, an international consulting company that applies the Adizes Methodology for clients in the public and private sectors. In 2011, the Adizes Institute was ranked as one of the top ten consulting organizations in the United States by Leadership Excellence Journal.

In addition to consulting to prime ministers and cabinet-level officers throughout the world, Dr. Adizes has worked with a wide variety of companies ranging from startups to members of the Fortune 50. He lectures in four languages, and has appeared before well over 100,000 executives in more than 50 countries.

He has written 14 books that have been published in 24 languages. His book, Corporate Lifecycles: How Organizations Grow and Die and What to Do About It (subsequently revised, expanded and republished as Managing Corporate Lifecycles) was named one of the Ten Best Business Books by Library Journal.

Dr. Adizes lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his family. In his leisure time he enjoys folk dancing, playing the accordion, and practicing meditation.

Reviews

[Jaunius · Rating 5 out of 5]

At my current place of work, the Adizes methodology is widely used. Otherwise, this book probably wouldn't have gotten into my hands, but after internal training, the leader of a group of colleagues lent it to me. By the way, with a strict demand to return it. As we can see from the name, the essence lies in the changes. Among many meaningful and instructive ideas, the author presents one that makes it clear that if there are no more changes in a person's life, then he is dead. I totally agree that change is inevitable and it happens for all sorts of reasons. And not only at the level of a person, but also at the level of a family, company, party or any other organization, even a country or a continent. Therefore, Dr. Adizes, who worked with countless company and government leaders, tried to structure how to turn the problems accompanying those changes into opportunities, how to create an organizational culture based on mutual trust and respect, how to make effective decisions and implement them, in the end, even how to communicate more effectively with other people having different features than ours, including many other noteworthy tips. I can say that this is a very difficult task that requires a huge amount of knowledge, experience, constant revision and adaptation to the ever-changing world, but the author devoted practically his whole life to it and achieved really great results. In order for companies applying the Adizes methodology to achieve better results, it takes many years and also constant support. However, there are examples when companies with a turnover of tens of millions reach a turnover of billions, or e.g. the country finally manages to cope with its economic challenges and begins to prosper. The information is presented in a conversational format, the language is quite academic, but interspersed with some pretty cool, easy-to-understand examples, and one other joke can be found. Therefore, the book is worth reading even for those who work for themselves or are still planning to create their own organization.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dabartinėje mano darbovietėje plačiai taikoma Adizes metodologija. Kitu atveju, turbūt ši knyga nebūtų patekusi man į rankas, bet po vidinių mokymų kolegų grupės vadovas ją paskolino. Beje, su griežtu reikalavimu grąžinti. Kaip ir matome iš pavadinimo, esmė slypi pokyčiuose. Autorius tarp daugybės turiningų, pamokančių idėjų pateikia ir tokią, kuri leidžia suprasti, jog, jeigu žmogaus gyvenime nebevyksta pokyčių, vadinasi – jis miręs. Pilnai sutinku, kad pokyčiai yra neišvengiami ir jie vyksta dėl įvairiausių priežasčių. Ir ne tik žmogaus, bet ir šeimos, įmonės, partijos ar bet kokios kitos organizacijos, net valstybės ar kontinento mastu. Todėl Dr. Adizes, dirbęs su begale kompanijų ir vyriausybių vadovais, pamėgino struktūriškai sudėlioti, kaip tuos pokyčius lydinčias problemas paversti galimybėmis, kaip kurti savitarpio pasitikėjimu ir pagarba grįstą organizacijos kultūrą, kaip priimti rezultatyvius sprendimus bei juos įgyvendinti, galų gale, net kaip efektyviau komunikuoti su skirtingas nei mūsų ypatybes turinčiais žmonėmis, įtraukiant daug kitų dėmesio vertų patarimų. Galiu pasakyti, kad tai yra labai sudėtinga užduotis, kuri reikalauja didžiulio žinių, patirties bagažo, nuolatinio peržiūrėjimo ir pritaikymo pagal nuolat besikeičiantį pasaulį, bet autorius tam paskyrė praktiškai visą savo gyvenimą ir pasiekė tikrai puikių rezultatų. Tam, kad ir kompanijos, taikančios Adizes metodologiją, pasiektų geresnių rezultatų prireikia ne vienerių metų ir taip pat nuolatinio palaikymo. Tačiau yra pavyzdžių, kai keliolikos milijonų apyvartą darančios kompanijos pasiekia milijardines apyvartas, arba pvz. valstybei pagaliau pavyksta susitvarkyti su ekonominiais iššūkiais ir ji pradeda klestėti. Informacija pateikiama pokalbio formatu, kalba pakankamai akademiška, bet įpinama ir gana šaunių, lengvai suprantamų pavyzdžių, galima rasti ir vieną kitą juokelį. Todėl knygą verta paskaityti net ir tiems, kurie dirba sau arba dar tik planuoja kurti savo organizaciją.

[Linda Vituma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kādā dzīves brīdī pieņēmu lēmumu uzturā lietot vietēji audzētus, bioloģiski sertificētus pārtikas produktus. Nu, ko - pērkam un rokam zemi, sējam un stādām, un ēdam tā, ka vaigi kust...? Vai tomēr ļaut to darīt kādam, kurš to dara dienu dienā? Proti, bioloģiski sertificētiem zemniekiem, no kuriem šo pārtiku katru nedēļu pērku.

Kādā dzīves brīdī sajutu, ka pārmaiņas ir joma, kurā, dažādu apstākļu sakritības dēļ, elpoju, domāju un esmu. Nu, ko - eju un daru, vēroju un mācos, un pārmaiņas notiek griezdamās....? Vispār jau tā bieži vien arī ir. Vienīgi "griezdamās" sadaļa nav nedz ātra, nedz viegla. Varbūt tieši tāpēc šajā reizē, pēc grāmatas izlasīšanas, prātā ienāca doma - varbūt ir vērts dot iespēju kādam, kuram ir programma un kuram patīk mācīt, un kurš to dara dienu dienu? Lai notiek - esmu gatava iemācīties šo pieeju kāda metodoloģijas zinātāja pavadībā un praktizēt to kopā ar labākajiem kolēģiem labākajā vidē, kādā līdz šim esmu strādājusi.

Pamata jēdzienus jūtos apguvusi; ticu, ka tas vairos spēju sadarboties rezultātu sasniegšanā. Aidā!

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember rushing through The Ideal Executive in a couple of days and that I only noticed that the author is trying to sell me something in the last chapter. In Mastering Change the author is not mastering delicate approach to sales and can't stop referencing his previous books, trainings, and seminars and keeps telling stories how awesomely he consulted governments and corporations and applied his methodology across oceans and cultures (without too much detail which is a major bummer - some of them sound interesting).

It's not that he doesn't have a point - he does, I really like the PAEI concept and how Adizes applied it to different domains: people, organizations, decisions, processes. This book has more broad application than The Ideal Executive so I actually thought it's not bad but in the end it's that constant sales pitch that drove me nuts.

Adizes has opinions about nations, history and political figures and he is not afraid to share it: he shares his observations about Gorbachev, Putin, Israel leaders and history. What he says mostly makes sense and is logical but some of the opinions are presented as utter truth when it's just an opinion (I think he could be more sensitive especially when talking about religious beliefs - not everyone is a believer and you have to respect that).

I'm still giving it 4 stars because I plan to use many concepts from the book in my daily work and I really liked the overall notion that all management is about mastering change. This makes Organizational Change Management the cornerstone of leadership where it truly belongs.

But you need to be careful when you read the book and not trust everything you are being fed blindly.

[Ilva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Principā piespiedu sevi pabeigt šo grāmatu, lai nepārnestos uz nākamo gadu. Ar 10lpp dienā smagas lasīšanas. Intetesanti šķita pāris reizes un pāris lpp šajā grāmatā. Citādi tāda pļurkšķēšana vien un grāmatas formāts - kā intervija tikai to pastiprināja. Neapšaubu, ka PAEI metodoloģija būtu slikta, ideja noteikti liekas loģiska un katrs cilvēks un vadītājs ir sava stila un ir svarīgi veiksmīgai attīstībai un sadarbībai to ņemt vērā. Tomēr grāmata mani neaizrāva un neradīja vēlmi šo tematu attīstīt tuvākai izpētei.

[Celso Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro excepcional, onde Adizes nos coloca a importância do respeito e da confiança como ferramentas chaves para o sucesso das organizações. Provoca reflexões sobre a jornada rumo à excelência através da colaboração.