Be the change, and these books will teach you how

BANGALORE, INDIA: In the highly competitive world of corporates, change should be the only constant, come what may.

Basically, it's about how efficiently organizations embrace changes on a time-to-time basis and adapt themselves to the evolving needs of its employees and customers.

What better way than learning from some of the industry pioneers and leaders, who from their experience, narrate the ways to handle change and illustrate in no uncertain points how to get the better of it!

In this context, we thought of listing out a few picks from the great pool of management books that focus on change.

Here we go:

* Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail by John Kotter

It is an eight-step process to create a sense of urgency to effect changes that are successful. By following the process elucidated by Dr Kotter, organizations are promised that they could steer clear of failure and become adept at change. In doing so, they can also increase their chances of success.

* First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

According to the book, great managers excel at developing their co-workers' specific talents and grooming them into top performers. Evidently, they don't hesitate to break any rule that conventional wisdom says must be followed.

* The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (author), Jeff Cox (author), David Whitford (contributor)

Although a management book, it is fiction in the format of a free-flowing novel. Its protagonist, Alex Rogo, is the manager of a failing manufacturing plant and, at a certain point, receives an ultimatum from corporate headquarters: Turn the situation around in three months or the plant will be scrapped.

With help from a mysterious mentor, Rogo discovers a revolutionary new way to do business - a way for people in any field of endeavor to increase productivity, profitability, and personal fulfillment.

* Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges (author), Susan Bridges (contributor)

Veteran business consultant William Bridges explains that successful organizational change takes place when employees have a clear purpose, a plan for, and a part to play in their changing surroundings. The book is for managers on all rungs of the corporate ladder, and has practical, step-by-step strategies for minimizing the disruptions caused by workplace change.

* Organization Change: Theory and Practice (Foundations for Organizational Science series) by W. Warner Burke

In the book, the author reviews various models and cases to demonstrate how to diagnose change issues in organizations. A clever mix of theory and research, greater emphasis is placed on planned, revolutionary change over the gradual, evolutionary change typically experienced by organizations.

Have you read these before or are planning to do soon?