Managing Transitions by William Bridges - Book Report/Review Example

Therefore, if the change is inevitable, the question the author brings up is how to manage the transition so that the change occurs smoothly. The change, according to the author, is an event, an inescapable event. Company CEO's eventually age and retire. Or an entire industry, such as the automotive industry in the US, is adversely affected by costs spiraling out of control over a long period of time, which results in a financial crisis for the entire industry. No longer is business a usual possible.

The question addressed by the author is this - when these events confront the business, what is the process of change that will allow the business or organization to transition smoothly through the change, and become stronger as a result. The marketplace is littered with examples of companies that did not succeed in answering this question. They did not succeed, according to the author, because the change process is a cultural, and psychological - social process, and not simply an event. For example, when a new CEO takes the reigns of a company, he or she does so with new ideas, and the desire to expand the business to new markets and new customers.

By definition, this means that the company must change; they must transition out of an existing psycho-social culture and take on a new one which is representative of the new leader. This is a process that often takes years. The company that understands this, and manages the transition well, remaining productive with existing business while creating new opportunities is the company that succeeds. The company which allows the transition to consuming valuable resources that are needed to 'feed' the existing business often winds up 'starving' its current clients, or pushing its people past the point of effectively.

The results are declining productivity, profits, and can result in the total implosion of a business. The author uses the three-step model for managing change which has been identified since 1935. First called the "unfreeze, change, refreeze' model by Kurt Lewin. Lewin used the example of changing the shape of an ice cube as an illustration of changing the social culture of an organization. Simply chipping away at the ice cube does not change its shape; it reduces the ice cube to shavings. Energy must be put into the social system, held in a 'frozen' state by the existing market, cultural and social forces in order to bring the system to a pliable state where the transition is possible.

Next, the entire process of transition must be managed. The process often requires new control systems, new training or existing staff as well as new staff. Managing the process often can require bringing in an outside consultant, a new player who is put in a position of non-biased authority to assist all stakeholders to make adjustments to a changing social order. When the process of change has transacted, and the new culture is emerging, a final surge of energy is required by the system in order to 'refreeze the system in its new state, and prevent old habits and old culture from reemerging in the newly transitioned organization.

William Bridges described this three-step process as follows. He calls the unfreeze process as the 'ending, loosing, or letting go' phase. One could call this a death phase, as old habits and methods must be terminated, and left behind.