Customer Reviews

A Survival Guide to the Stress of Organizational Change

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The tone and messages of the book are such that they will serve to demotivate, rather than inspire, employees. For example:

Message #1: You (the reader) are not senior management. Throughout the book, senior management is described as "the people at the top" and "they." The book immediately sets up a distinction between these two groups - top management, which is moving the company along in response to outside changes, and employees, who are resisting change at every turn.

Message #2: Change is scary, unrelenting, and you (the average person) are naturally not going to like it. And if you weren't scared about change going into the book, you will be after you read it. One of the opening paragraphs reads: "And if today's stress and tension aren't enough to create problems, all a person has to do is consider what the future holds. One close look at what's in store should be enough to worry anyone."

Message #3: You (the reader) are an idiot, and you will persistently resist change unless you wise up to the tips in this book. The book outlines 15 mistakes people usually make in dealing with change. It doesn't offer 15 good ideas for preventing stress due to change, but instead focuses on 15 things you'll probably do wrong unless, of course, you read this book.

On the whole, this book is too simplistic and supplies only minimal rationale for why an employee should change. If you want to get employees to be more open to change, to put their heart into their job, to be more supportive of the company's overall direction, then give them a book that will inspire them. Give them tips for how to be a happier person, both on the job and at home. Talk to them in a positive tone and not a negative one, as this book does. There are many books out there that can accomplish these goals, just not this one.

These books were given to my group as a Christmas present from our supervisor. After wasting a portion of my life reading this stupid thing, the only thing I learned is that Management will never own up to the mistake of making a bad decisions and they do not take their hard working employees into consideration when making these decisions. All this book is saying is that upper management can do whatever they want and everybody else just has to suck it up and deal with it. The only thing management cares about it money and they will make whatever decision they can that will cause them to get more money even if it means making their employee's lives a living hell. The guy who wrote this book just gave upper management a kind way of saying "screw you" to the lower paid employees. I had to burned the book after I read it

I've been on both sides of reorganizations, and this book does HELP. It was especially very good advice when I was younger and just beginning to experience the change that all organizations must go through. I held on to my copy and still look at it now and then to remind myself that I shouldn't fight change, but take it as it comes and make the most of it.

I am an employee who appreciates reality. This book espouses the importance of personal accountability...for how we work, how we live, how we feel.

The challenge is in doing something right that does not come naturally; proactive rather than reactive. This book made me feel good about how much control I actually do have.

Following the axioms presented will help you step over some tripwires in the minefield of a work-a-day world in the throes of change.

Price Pritchett and Ron Pound have written a "Survival Guide to The Stress of Organizational Change" but this is no 'Survival Guide'. This is an open letter, from senior management at <your company name here> explaining why you, the reader, are weak and mistake riddled so-suck-it-up-and-get-back-to-work. The table of contents consists of 15 chapters that all begin with "Big Mistake". This underlying assumption that Price and Ron (and of course senior management at <your company name here> know what I think (of course I am incapable of empathy) and what motivates me, is exactly why some companies undergo organizational change every year or two. This book is a non-religous guide to both thought and behavior, much like "On the Correct Handling of the Contradictions Among the People". If you receive a copy of this book from senior management at <your company name here> it is likely time to start looking for a new job.

I understand that Mao Zedong wanted to be cremated in a funeral pyre of 100,000 copies of this book, but Price and Ron insisted that they use that lame crystal coffin instead.

This 36-page booklet, geared towards lower or middle management, reads like propaganda. It is, however, hard reality, like it or not. Its obvious stuff that we all need to be reminded of now and again. I suggest that if your organization is going through major change and you're having a hard time dealing with the situation, read this with an open mind. I wish I read it before they laid me off.