What is different about this change management book?

This book primarily emphasizes what most of the previous literature fails to do, that is, the importance of a methodology on how to institutionalize change -- how to make change last. Most change management literature concentrates on the implementation phase of change. By “institutionalize”, it is meant that change becomes part of the way business is done from that day forward. In other words, the change becomes part of the culture and therefore, is no longer considered as “change”. Rather, it is considered the new status quo. Without the institutionalization of change, the change initiative is short lived and simply becomes one more plan of the month/year. Without this last step, change does not actually occur. This is also related to the development of a change management competency in an organization. When organizations develop internal change management competency, it helps to foster a culture of change; both are needed if change is going to be institutionalized.

This Handbook also contains chapters on two important topics previously mentioned but not found in most change management books. That is , Chapter 11, Managing Change in the Midst of Crisis and another chapter that recognizes that most successful implementation programs have change management built into their process, such as the example of Six Sigma in Chapter 10, Six Sigma and Change Management.

 

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 What is Change?

Chapter 2 Why Change?

Chapter 3 The Right Environment for Change

Chapter 4 The Change Cycle

Chapter 5 Initiating Change

Chapter 6 Implementing Change

Chapter 7 Institutionalizing Change

Chapter 8 Change Management Worksheets

Chapter 9 Case Studies and Your Company

Chapter 10 Six Sigma and Change Management

Chapter 11 Introducing Change into Organizations in Crisis

Chapter 12 The Real Change Agents

Epilogue

 

About the Author

 

William “Will” J. Lannes, III is no stranger to change. He has had three careers in three different industries and is directly connected to a fourth through his role as Director of a major Savings Bank, a position he has held for over 25 years. In each of these careers he has been involved in major change. Upon graduating from Tulane University with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering he entered the United States Marine Corps where he stayed eleven years in various assignments between two very different specialties, infantry and electronics. While in the Marine Corps he received his Master of Science in Electronics Engineering at the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. His military career included a tour in combat in Vietnam as the operations officer of a Combined Action Group, the USMC unique pacification program. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his leadership abilities in Vietnam.

After leaving the military he joined Louisiana Power & Light Company where he held various assignments in both system design and operations, and in production. He led several large engineering groups in both areas at the Vice President and Senior Vice President level. While involved in system design, he designed and energized the first uprated substation in the United States. This design pushed the envelope in high voltage design. While involved in production, he helped to initiate the first “partnering” program in the power plants. During the later part of his career, the electric industry went through major changes in regard to deregulation and in his last assignment he helped the parent company, Entergy, form a new strategic business unit to provide direction for the entire Entergy system transmission and generation capabilities. After twenty-two years in the electric industry he took early retirement and entered the world of academia full time.

Will joined the University of New Orleans in 1992 as the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Affairs in the College of Engineering. He led an interdisciplinary team which developed and implemented a new graduate program in engineering management. The program was authorized in 1996 and he has served as the founding Director of the Engineering Management Program in the College of Engineering. When the program achieved departmental status, he became the first Chairman of the Engineering Management program. In 2006 he retired from this position but was awarded Professor Emeritus status and continues to be affiliated with the University of New Orleans.
His efforts have not gone without recognition. For his pioneering work in high voltage substation design he was elected a Fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). He was also selected as the IEEE Outstanding Engineer for Region 3, a six state area. He has published numerous papers and has been an invited speaker at professional meetings and conferences. He was presented the Prize Paper Award by the IEEE Power Engineering Society. He was elected to Who’s Who in American, Who’s Who in Engineering and Science, Who’s Who’s in Industry and Finance, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He remains active in his profession and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Louisiana.

This book is an outgrowth of his experiences and his teaching of courses in engineering management, in particular his course on managing technology change and his course on change management. His university research as also directly contributed to the worksheets which he has developed for initiating, implementing, and institutionalizing change. His current specialties are change management, total quality, productivity improvement, and technology transfer. Professor Lannes remains active teaching seminars and consulting on change management subjects.