Tim Clark sent me his book on change,

EPIC CHANGE: HOW TO LEAD CHANGE IN THE GLOBAL AGE BY TIMOTHY R. CLARK.

Two particular points are at the core of his book and I find them compelling. They are:

1. The leaders' ability to draw out people's discretionary efforts is more important in success than strategy or other issues that are usually assumed to be primary success factors.

2. The leader's role is largely one of energy management within an organization; generating, releasing and channeling people's energy:

From the flyleaf
"The EPIC (Evaluate, Prepare, Implement and Consolidate) approach for change management draws on the research-based “power curve of change.” As Clark explains, change fails less often for poor strategy or technical difficulty. Rather, it is a leader’s inability to draw out the discretionary efforts of people that usually signals failure. The EPIC approach teaches leaders the critical points of leverage for energy management within an organization and offers a comprehensive guide to change leadership – arguably the most critical competency of the twenty-first century".

Labels: Leadership book, leading change, managing change