Making a Difference: Strategies and Real Time Models to Transform Your Organisation - Hardcover

Bruce Nixon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1901912019 ISBN 13: 9781901912012

Publisher: CIP Limited, 1998

Synopsis

Organizations are facing a tidal wave of global economic, technological, and social change. To survive, they cannot rely on innovation alone; the change must be fundamental. By reworking its structure, any company can better engage the energy, creativity, and intelligence of its workforce - and profit considerably. This book is for any businessperson who wants organizational change. It provides the tools and support for challenging tradition and implementing visionary goals. And the author's "real time management development" concept encourages learning by doing - providing an improved method of transformation.

About this title

About the Author

My purpose is to help leaders create better and more successful workplaces and to play my part in building a fair and sustainable world. Bruce Nixon M.A. (Oxon), FCIPD, Council Member of the Association for Management Education and Development and its Sustainable Development Network, brings more than thirty years experience in a wide range of organisations in the UK, North America and the Caribbean, mainly in people management roles, later as an internal consultant. For the past fourteen years he has worked as an independent management consultant. His special interests are: whole system change; working with teams facing change; cross-cultural work; management development that transforms performance by focusing on real opportunities and issues; mentoring; training managers as facilitators and mentors; training consultants; shadow consulting and helping trainers become internal consultants. He has helped many people work through major transitions. He learns a lot from managers and his own journey, including periods of joy and, sometimes, anguish. His partner is American and two of his five children are Anglo-Americans.

Review

"ExxonMobil's Jim Hopwood says: 'a long overdue text book on....Real Time Management Development.' Chris Green CEO of Virgin Trains: 'This inspiring and practical book deserves to be read widely by leaders at every level, especially those at the top.' Roger Harrison, veteran US OD practitioner and author: 'Presents leading edge ideas of "organisation transformation" for HRD professionals and internal consultants in a way that strikes just the right balance of vision with common sense and practicality. I am sure this book will touch the hearts and minds of many in our profession.' Roy Horn, University of Buckinghamshire, in People Management, says:' "Making a Difference" has the power to do just that. This practical book is designed to facilitate change and transform a wide range of people in organisations. Human resource development practitioners will find a wealth of ideas and approaches to inform their professional practice. For development professionals, Making a Difference is a must-read.' At another level it is more radical and works at your unconscious: 'It has the power to challenge and transform the reader all at the same time. It taps into the unconscious mind and helps one to see simple but very important values and morals, which have been overlooked not just in the workplace but in society in general.' Adisa Stephen-Ezeocha, revolutionary performance poet and facilitator of school workshops to develop the faculty of imagination, on which artistic, scientific and technical progress depends. 'Bruce has a profound understanding of the human struggle to stay focused connected and productive in an environment that is changing so fast. Bruce offers a perspective for thinking about and managing complex systems that is values-based, practical and speaks to the human spirit.' Sandra Janoff, Consultant and Author, Co-Director of Searchnet, Philadelphia. 'Bruce Nixon's "Making a Difference" deals with contemporary issues in managing and organising in a deep way without unnecessary accretion of jargon or academic obscurity. It is, in short, profoundly simple. This does not stop it being challenging, practical, grounded in participative theory and driven by values. It is a book I unhesitatingly recommend to students and to practitioners alike. Dr David Megginson, Professor of HRD, Mentoring and Coaching Research Group, School of Business and Finance, Sheffield Hallam University. In many respects this is a spiritual book. It is a valuable contribution to a literature where tools and techniques predominate. OD consultants, whether internal or external, managers and practitioners of change will find much to reflect on and internalise in this book.' Leadership and Organisation Development Journal, David Coghlan, University of Dublin, Ireland. * 'This inspiring and practical book deserves to be read widely by leaders at every level, especially those at the top. It is full of wisdom and common sense about how to lead strategic change, so essential in this era of rapid transformation and global competition. Amongst the best bits are Bruce's Strategic Leadership Model, and his uniquely practical approach to development, called Real Time Development. This rejects the idea of "class room teaching" and gets leaders working together on the real issues and opportunities facing their organisation; planning and bringing about change and learning, all at the same time. The ideas about "getting the whole system into the room" and how to involve people at all levels in strategic change are especially valuable and highly relevant today. There are many other useful approaches and insights. It is unusually honest, easy and enjoyable to read, with hardly any jargon and creative in its approach.' Chris Green, CEO Virgin Trains, bringing UK the trains it deserves, formerly CEO of Network South East, ScotRail and Intercity. * 'We were engaged in a complete cultural change in a traditional British clearing bank. It is for others to judge how successful we were but it would certainly have been easier to achieve had the blue print which unfolded in this book been available at the time.' Lord Terry Thomas, Cheshire, UK, former MD of the Co-operative Bank. * "This book should be of particular interest to... readers because of its strategic, long - term and global perspective, and its emphasis on the important role of the internal consultant in helping develop, enlighten and empower leadership." Brian Burrows, Long Range Planning * "Your book, Making a Difference, was a breath of fresh air, as it outlined in a straightforward way how one can transform an organization." "Easy to read and multi-faceted in its appeal to all participants in organisations: from CEO and his management team, the human resources specialist, to the employees who wish to enhance their contribution to the organisation. A significant contribution to the literature and practice of organisational change in the global environment" Dr Keith Panton, C.D., Ph.D, former President and CEO of Alcan Jamaica, former Chairman of the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica and, first Executive-in-Residence at the University of the West Indies Mona Institute of Management. * 'Bruce Nixon's "Making a Difference" deals with contemporary issues in managing and organising in a deep way without unnecessary accretion of jargon or academic obscurity. It is, in short, profoundly simple. This does not stop it being challenging, practical, grounded in participative theory and driven by values. It is a book I unhesitatingly recommend to students and to practitioners alike.' Dr David Megginson, Professor of HRD, Mentoring and Coaching Research Group, School of Business and Finance, Sheffield Hallam University. * 'Presents leading edge ideas of "organisation transformation" for HRD professionals and internal consultants in a way that strikes just the right balance of vision with common sense and practicality. I am sure this book will touch the hearts and minds of many in our profession'. Roger Harrison PhD, Seattle, USA, author of 'Consultant's Journey, A Dance of Work and Spirit,' and 'Collected Papers' and pioneer practitioner in organisation development. * "'Making a Difference" has the power to do just that. This practical book is designed to facilitate change and transform a wide range of people in organisations. Human resource development practitioners will find a wealth of ideas and approaches to inform their professional practice. For development professionals, Making a Difference is a must-read.' People Management, Roy Horn, University of Buckinghamshire, UK. * Making a Difference inspired me about a new way of writing assignment - simple, easy and free way of writing and your passion about working for and with people. I felt it was like reading a novel or story, not a professional book. I finished it in two days. I felt that I wanted to copy the book and paste it as my words in the assignment! You really said it all for me. I felt this is the kind of learning I want that depends on the "no rules." I believe that with people there are no rules; there is no right or wrong and that's what you proved in your book. The Real Time Management Development model is really simple and I don't even see it as model. I see it as normal flow of steps that need to be followed and the most effective way. I fell in love with your work because it is honest and it is from the heart, your heart, not the models and theories. I also see your love, care and passion for people, which we share. I felt, if I ever want to write a book, it is not going to be more than you wrote - just my unique contribution. I really consider it one of the most effective books that I have read so far. I hope my words are really useful to all the readers around the world and help them to think differently and, most important, take serious actions. Mohamed Dessouky, Egypt, Masters in HRD, Middlesex University Business School. * 'An excellent book which I can thoroughly recommend to those who want to help organizations and the people in them to develop effectively' Effective Consulting, Eric Mitchell, Consultant * 'Light years ahead of most people on this side of the Atlantic.' Dr John Clements, MD, Cambridge, Creative Mentors Ltd. * 'Very readable, and most importantly, it is highly realistic in its approach, facing up to the very difficult issues that have to be worked through if lasting organisational transformation is to be achieved. Has the advantage for the British reader of being set in the industrial culture of the UK. This makes it more relevant than much of the US literature. Bruce's contribution stands comparison with the best.' Philip Sadler CBE, Berkhamsted, a Director of the Centre for Tomorrow's Company, former CEO of Ashridge Management College. * 'I am enjoying reading your book; it has a lot of good common sense stories that for some reason seem to be lacking in our business environment.' Italian Director, based in Spain, of a European civil engineering and property company. * 'Bruce Nixon has a profound understanding of the human struggle to stay focused connected and productive in an environment that is changing so fast. Bruce offers a perspective for thinking about and managing complex systems that is values-based, practical and speaks to the human spirit.' Sandra Janoff, Philadelphia, Consultant and Author, Co-Director of Searchnet. * 'This is a generous, honest, practical, challenging, exciting and optimistic book. Generous in that Bruce invites us to borrow the tools and copy the methods he has developed through much hard work and experimentation. The honest discussion of difficulties as well as successes adds considerably to the book's credibility and usefulness. Bruce challenges us all by showing that we can make a real difference if we chose to make the effort and take the risk. The book is optimistic in the best sense of the word. It is based on a belief that progress and improvement are possible, but is entirely realistic about the problems to be faced. A key conclusion is that the developer's first priority must be her or his own development. He also reminds us of the well-known but much ignored truth that most conventional training is a waste o...

Edition details

• Publisher: CIP Limited
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1901912019
• ISBN 13: 9781901912012
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300