3 February 2011 | Chris Graves

by Anthony Greenfield
Management Books, £14.99

5 out of 5

After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point recently I was looking forward to this book on managing change – and I wasn’t disappointed.

As the title suggests, it focuses on five forces of change – certainty, purpose, control, connection and success – and how you can use these forces to make the implementation of change a success. Particularly insightful are the tools and techniques that can be applied in the different phases of a change programme.

The book also highlights the behaviours an individual should bring to leadership of change and how vision, integrity, openness, empowerment, coaching and consensus should be used to maximise the impact of the five forces.

The book is targeted at executives and managers responsible for planning and delivering change. In the current climate I can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t fit into this category and as such would make great reading for any purchasing and supply chain professionals who want to know how to deliver change more effectively.

Unlike many books of this genre the case studies were relevant to the UK market, using the “Jamie’s School Dinners” campaign to demonstrate how the techniques described in theory have worked in practice. Other examples are given which the author has personally been involved in at companies such as Sainsbury’s.

So if you are involved in change, be an early adopter and read this book.

☛ Chris Graves is head of procurement, services at Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation