Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, 2nd Edition

The business world is a place of constant change, with stories of mergers, layoffs, bankruptcy, and restructuring appearing in the news every day. No matter the scale, when these kinds of changes hit the workplace, the literal, situational shifts are often not as difficult for employees and managers to work through as the psychological transitions that accompany them. Indeed, organizational transitions effect people; it is always people who have to embrace a new situation and carry out the corresponding change.

Without a clear understanding of what transition does to employees and what employees in transition can, in turn, do to an organization, the job of managing workplace change can be difficult; managed poorly, the result can be disastrous to the morale and stability of the staff. As a veteran business consultant William Bridges explains in detail, successful organizational change takes place when employees have a purpose, a mental picture, a plan for, and a part to play in change. In short, successful change takes place only when employees are “on board” with it. Directed at managers at all rungs of the proverbial corporate ladder, this thoroughly updated and expanded edition of the best selling Managing Transitions provides practical, step-by-step strategies for reaching this goal and for minimizing the disruptions caused by workplace change. It is an invaluable managerial tool for navigating an inevitably tumultuous time.

About the Author

William Bridges is a consultant and lecturer based in Mill Valley, California. Formerly a professor of English, he made a shift to the field of transitional management in the mid-1970s; out of his workshops grew a long career helping others through transitions. Past president of the Association for Humanistic Psychology, Bridges was rated by The Wall Street Journal in 1993 as one of the ten most popular executive development consultants in the United States. He is the author of the bestselling Transitions, JobShift, Creating You & Co. and They Way of Transitions.