David A. Nadler is one of the nation's leading consultants and advisors to corporate executives on the subjects
of organizational architecture and organizational change. Since 1980, he has served as CEO of the Delta Consulting
Group, Inc. Prior to that, he served on the faculty of the graduate school of business at Columbia University.
Nadler has authored or edited more than a dozen books on management, organizational change, and leadership, including
Organizational Architecture (1992), Discontinuous Change (1994), and Executive Teams (1997), all from Jossey-Bass.
Review
"Immensely readable, this work bolts together the image or theory and the reality of what is required to
change the performance of an enterprise. Whether the challenge is renewal or fundamental change, this book delivers
real-life depictions that will help all who invest the time."
--Richard A. McGinn, president and COO, Lucent Technologies, Inc.
Submitted by the Publisher, September, 2000
Summary
Stand on the front lines of innovation with today?s top business leaders. Throughout this page-turner, archconsultant
David Nadler leverages twenty years of work with many of the world?s most acclaimed CEOs to provide a detailed,
inside account of how they?ve led the most difficult and significant change efforts of our times. Case examples
include initiatives undertaken at Sun Microsystems, Lucent Technologies, Xerox, Corning, AT&T and Kaiser Permanente.
Engaging and inspiring, it offers leaders and managers at every level a new, field-tested repertoire of concepts,
tools and techniques for understanding the dynamics of change and managing it effectively.
How do today's most outstanding executives inspire change throughout their organizations? What makes them effective
leaders, driven to champion change? This compelling guide offers managers a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into
real-world change strategies successfully put into practice by corporate leaders. Top management consultant David
Nadler reveals the experiences and insights of the CEOs and key managers he has advised over the course of twenty
years. In Champions of Change he combines their applied visions into a clear, common-sense approach to initiating,
designing, and implementing organizational change.
Drawing on the personal experiences he and his colleagues at Delta Consulting Group have had with companies
as varied as Lucent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Xerox Corporation, Corning, Chase Manhattan, and Kaiser Permanente,
Nadler offers organizational leaders a coherent approach that has been tested, refined, and tested again in the
marketplace. He candidly reveals why corporate change must be driven by top executives and vividly illustrates
how they do it.
In his highly readable style, Nadler presents the core principles shared by successful change managers: appropriate
involvement, committed leadership, valid information, and informed choices. He clearly demonstrates how effective
leaders actively involve key managers and articulate visions and goals that address the basic values and highest
aspirations of people throughout the organization. Without exception, he says, they support sharing and questioning
information at all levels, and act with the understanding that the best decisions emerge from full and open consideration
of the widest range of alternatives.
Champions of Change gives leaders and managers a new repertoire of concepts, ideas, tools, and techniques for
understanding the dynamics of change and managing it within their own area of responsibility. This essential guide
offers an unprecedented opportunity to learn the lessons of the "champions of change"¾those CEOs
who lead change themselves, and then provide support for others who dare to challenge the status quo.
Table of Contents
1. What It Takes: Confronting the Realities of Change
2. Where to Start: Understanding Organizations
3. From Tuning to Overhaul: The Dimensions of Change
4. Reshaping the Entire Enterprise: The Special Challenges of Discontinuous Change
5. Winning Hearts and Minds: Overcoming the Obstacles to Change
6. Setting the Stage: Recognizing the Change Imperative
7. Waging the Great Campaign: Developing a Shared Direction
8. Building a New Strategy: The Strategic Choice Process
9. Redesigning the Organizational "Hardware": The Keys to Strategic Design
10. When Worlds Collide: Aligning Strategy And Culture
11. Finding the Right People: A Guide to Strategic Selection
12. Staying the Course: Consolidating and Sustaining Change
13. Leading the Charge: The Unique Role of Senior Management
14. Learning to Lead Change: The New Principles for CEOs and Companies
