Communication for Change Management

Big corporations have been filing for bankruptcy lately – Bed, Bath and Beyond, Virgin Orbit, and Tuesday Morning to name a few.  But not all companies who actually file or come close to it fail.  The difference is how leadership moves to change their corporations and pivot the team culture and activities.  That change cannot happen without effective communication.

In Communication for Change Management, Gifford Thomas explores how communication helped the leaders of Ford, Apple, Starbucks, and Xerox bring their companies back from the brink of failure.  Thomas compares these successes to another company he consulted for which did not see the same results.  Without naming the company, he explores the differences in communication styles and methods from leadership, and how it affected the buy-in from lower-level employees.  With examples and documented research from other sources, Thomas clearly proves the theme that communication plans should be included in every step of the change management process.

I give Communication for Change Management 4 out of 5 stars.  As a professional in the acquisitions and integrations world, I have seen firsthand what happens when communication fails or is nonexistent during corporate changes.  I appreciate the talking points and case studies Thomas included to help share this information with my team.  However, I did find two glaring errors in the charts included in the material.

I would recommend this book for any leader looking for a quick refresher before employing any change in their company.  I can see this helping leaders in situations like acquisitions or mergers, restructuring, or top management changes.  I would also recommend this to students in consulting or change management coursework looking to broaden their case studies.

I chose Communication for Change Management for the Booklist Queen reading challenge prompt “a Dewey Decimal System: 300’s book”.  The 300’s section is classified as Social Sciences with subcategories including anthropology, statistics, political science, economics, law, public administration, education, commerce, and customs/folklore.  This nonfiction section is a wealth of knowledge but is not something most casual readers search out unless looking for help with a specific challenge.  I would suggest walking through this section the next time you visit the library – there are some great books and I’m sure you’ll find your next amazing read in these stacks!

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Swan Light, Phoebe Rowe
• Current audio book: Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, Jenny Colgan
• Book I’m most looking forward to: The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise, Colleen Oakley