You Would Be Better Off if You Knew What People Think

Last week, I received three gifts in my inbox: three critical book reports on Change with Confidence from master’s degree students.

I first met Dr. Len Karakowsky, Professor of Human Resource Management at York University, in the spring of 2013 just after my book was published. We were introduced by someone we both knew and had an excellent conversation about our passion for change management.

Soon after, I spoke at Len’s Organizational Change and Development course that is part of York’s Master of Human Resource Management program. I was delighted and honoured when Change with Confidence was added to the course reading list the next semester.

Len and I had discussed getting feedback on my book from his students. I was excited by the prospect of people commenting on what was useful (and not useful), based on their experience and needs.

The winter session included a critical book report on Change with Confidence:

For Change with Confidence: On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest rating), how helpful is this book to you as an HR professional who will be involved in managing or leading change? What area(s) is/are this book’s biggest strength(s) and what is/are its biggest weakness(es) as a change management tool for YOU (or your organization)? Why?

StephanieTirelli, Emily Candy and Anne Gibbs kindly agreed to share their excellent reports. Reading them brought me back to the time when I was making decisions about what and how I would share my advice.

Here are most of the strengths and weaknesses and my reflections on them:

I am grateful for Stephanie’s, Emily’s and Anne’s reviews of my book. It is instructive to validate things that are useful and identify things that aren’t. Both have me thinking and both will make me better off for future projects.

Phil