Leading for a Change

Creating organizational leadership is never easy. This book provides common language and practical tools to help get the real leadership work done. It is written in straightforward language that is easy for people at all levels to understand. I routinely recommend it to clients.

I was first exposed to Leading for a Change by Ralph Jacobsen a number of years ago. I used the concepts and toolkit in developing strategic leadership in my organization. Since then I have pulled out the book and applied those concepts to many different business situations and organizations. Whatever lifecycle stage your company or department is at there is tremendous application. I believe this is due to the practical concepts and easy to implement strategies in an ever changing business environment. The information surrounding managing the paradox of balancing today's realities with driving change and the new future was particularly relevant to me.

"Leading for a Change" by Ralph Jacobson is like having your own consultant working with you. Ralph makes the book "user friendly". He presents the reader with a "bag of tools" from which he/she can pick and choose those that meet their specific needs. Mr. Jacobson has brought together sound theory on leadership with practical approaches for operationalizing change. I would guess he has been able to synthesize theory and practice because he himself has worked both in HR and as a consultant...he seems to know both sides of the equation. This book gives the reader some special insights into "what may work" and what won't in your specific circumstance. He organizes the book in a way that makes it a handy reference book...one you can pull off the shelf and remind yourself as to how you may want to approach a leadership issue. I would recommend this as reading to anyone who has concerns about how to maximize leadership potential...either on a personal basis or for your company.

Ralph Jacobson is among the very top thinkers in organizational and leadership development today. Working in Customer Relationship Management, where organizational change and leadership challenges are everywhere, I appreciate both the wisdom and practicality he offers. I'm going to make this book required reading for all my clients.