The Change Leader's Roadmap: How to Navigate Your Organization's Transformation, 2nd Edition

“Having applied this methodology for two years to manage change inside Microsoft, it has been instrumental in our ability to land change effectively, engage employees, and deliver results quickly. The Change Leader’s Roadmap allows us to lead change with precision and minimal outside consulting, while at the same time growing change leadership capability internally. This is the most complete change methodology we have found anywhere.”—Pete Fox, general manager, Corporate Accounts, Microsoft US

“This newest edition of The Change of Leader’s Roadmap is an invaluable, comprehensive, and practical guide for envisioning an organization’s desired future, designing the structures and practices necessary to make it happen, and implementing them effectively. The book describes the change process in nine distinct phases and outlines the activities and tasks that need to occur in each phase. It provides change leaders with an essential map for successfully traversing the complex and uncertain terrain of transformational change.”
—Thomas G. Cummings, professor and chair, Department of Management and Organization, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

“This is the next best thing to having Dean, Linda, and the Being First team riding alongside your complex change initiative. The Change Leader’s Roadmap breeds confidence in senior executive “Champions” to guide not just a successful transformational change, but most importantly, to develop the mission critical organizational culture that will ensure unparalleled return on investment. Nothing I have seen in my thirty-two years of leading change comes close.”—Jeff Mulligan, former CEO, Common Wealth Credit Union; mayor, City of Lloydminster, Canada

“If you are one of the many who have earnestly tried to deliver a change initiative that did not meet your expectations . . . .don’t give up or do anything until you read this book.  Dean and Linda are truly masters of change leadership. Reading this book is like having your own private coaches to hold your hand and show you the way to extraordinary results from change.”
—Beverly Kaye, CEO, Career Systems International; author, Love 'em or Lose 'em: Getting Good People to Stay

“After implementing more than two thousand business strategy and operational excellence initiatives, we set out to find the best change methodology and toolbox in the world. The methodology this book describes is it! Study it thoroughly, because the thinking, process approach and pragmatic tools really work!”—Thomas Fischer, director COO, Valcon Management Consultants A/S, Copenhagen

“Dean and Linda have written a very rare business book.  It is a relevant and practical guide for developing capability to manage change as a strategic advantage.  While there are many books on the theory of change psychology and change management, this book provides a level of organization and detail that allows leaders to put the theory to practical use, to execute   it well, and have employees adopt and embrace the change.  I recommend this book to any leader who is responsible for driving change in their organization.”—James Hereford, executive vice president, Group Practice Division, Group Health Cooperative

“Powerful business solutions to the current chaos facing many organizations today. Dean Anderson and Linda Ackerman Anderson get to the heart of change, the human touch, by using timeless techniques and tools.”—Ken Blanchard coauthor, The One Minute Manager and Leading at a Higher Level

More Praise for the Second Edition of The Change Leader's Roadmap

“Change today is fast and furious. The Change Leader's Roadmap covers every phase of transformational change—from preparing for change to lessons learned. It is a must-read blueprint for anyone looking to succeed in the field of change management and organizational development. I highly recommend it—no professional should be without it.”—Darlene Meister, director, Unified Change Management, United States House of Representatives

“Having a vision and direction for change is one thing, implementing vision is quite another. Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson have been there and have done it. This book about implementing the change process is an invaluable guide for how to do it.”—W. Warner Burke, Ph.D., Edward Lee Thorndike Professor of Psychology and Education; chair, Department of Organization and Leadership; program coordinator, Graduate Programs in Social-Organizational Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University

“The Change Leader’s Roadmap is essential reading for today’s organizational leaders. Change is constant in healthcare. This work has been enormously helpful to us in organizing our successful transformational change agenda. I highly recommend this book as a doorway to this valuable methodology.”—Alan Yordy, president and chief mission officer, PeaceHealth

“I cannot imagine a more thorough or useful resource for those involved in leading change than this book. The authors, through their deep experience and knowledge, have made this very complex topic accessible and provided clear direction for those who are charged with considering, planning for, and implementing transformative change.”—B. Kim Barnes, CEO, Barnes and Conti Associates, Inc.; author, Exercising Influence: Making Things Happen at Work, at Home, and In Your Community

“In this stand-alone companion book to their groundbreaking work on conscious change leadership, the Andersons provide a practical, step-by-step guide for change leaders, managers, and consultants. The book provides conceptually grounded, real world, time-tested tools and guidance that will prove invaluable to those faced with navigating the challenges of leading organizational change in today's turbulent times.”—Robert J. Marshak, Ph.D., senior scholar in residence, MSOD Program, American University; organizational change consultant

“Every once in a while a book is written for change leaders that deserves more than a simple reading and justifies study. Role up your sleeves, crack the cover, and you’ll have something worth going to work with.”—Mel Toomey, LHD, scholar in residence for Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership, Center for Leadership Studies, The Graduate Institute

“While the first editions were excellent to begin with, these enhanced second editions of Beyond Change Management and The Change Leader’s Roadmap are even better with age. The additional years of experience deepen the author’s articulation of the links between theory and practice. These books are outstanding resources for both organization change consultants and organization system leaders.  Having a roadmap in common promotes the teamwork required for complex adaptive and continually evolving change efforts.”—Charles Seashore, Ph.D., Malcolm Knowles Chair of Adult Learning, Fielding Graduate University

“In every generation there are creative and disciplined mapmakers who provide clear guidance to those whose paths will take them on similar journeys. Dean Anderson and Linda Ackerman Anderson are this generation's mapmakers. Their books are rich, resilient, comprehensive and innovative guides that enable change leaders and consultants to practice their trades with heightened awareness and skill. Their grasp of the multiple dimensions of leading successful transformation help us recognize both the practical and the wise.”—David S. Surrenda, Ph. D., author,   Retooling on the Run

“The Change Leader’s Roadmap is an essential book for anyone attempting to understand and manage complex change, especially today’s healthcare leaders. The book offers a comprehensive and practical guide that will help you get change right the first time. It will significantly increase your likelihood of success and lower your risk of costly setbacks. We have used the Being First methodology successfully on a variety of difficult organizational change initiatives including major clinical quality improvement and safety initiatives, as well as technology implementations such as electronic health record and enterprise resource planning systems. Based on over fifteen years of experience successfully managing complex clinical and operational change, I highly recommend The Change Leader’s Roadmap and its companion text, Beyond Change Management.”—John Haughom, M.D., senior vice president, Clinical Quality and Patient Safety, PeaceHealth

“Once again the Andersons have demonstrated their mastery of organizational transformation. The Change Leader's Roadmap is essential reading for any professional who is serious about leading sustainable change in large organizations.” —Rayona Sharpnack, founder and CEO, Institute for Women's Leadership

“Change efforts fail because of haphazard or arbitrary actions. This guide, essential for everyone involved in today's organizational change efforts, is the most comprehensive and systematic guide for change leadership ever created.”
—John Adams, Ph.D., emeritus professor, Saybrook University, Organizational Systems Ph.D. Program

“I believe Linda and Dean have raised the bar again. The in-depth understanding provided through theory, concept, method, and a roadmap will support anyone leading and managing organizational change to enhance the possibility of immediate results and creating sustained capability.”—John D. Carter, Ph.D. President, Gestalt Center for Organization & Systems Development

“The Change Leader’s Roadmap provides access to a rare experience: creating real, transformational change in a grounded, easy-to-understand manner. It calls into question our often hidden assumptions about what should work, and points us to what does work. And, it is refreshingly practical! I kept being surprised by the Andersons’ clean approach. This is a must for anyone responsible for or involved in complex, large scale change efforts. And who isn’t these days?”—Debbie King, organizational development leader, Kaiser Permanente

 “The definitive ‘how to’ guide for change leaders—the Andersons have taken up where the theorists left off, providing practical mechanisms and strategies to build change capability within organizations. They challenge all of us who call ourselves change agents to practice what we preach and build reflexive consciousness into all our change leadership efforts.”—Quentin Jones, Australian Managing Director, Human Synergistics International; coauthor, In Great Company—Unlocking the Secrets of Culture Transformation

“In Beyond Change Management and The Change Leaders Roadmap, Dean and Linda provide practitioners and executives not only the how (tools) but the why (concepts). If you are looking for a comprehensive treatment of the tricky journey of transformation, this is it.”—Christopher G. Worley, Center for Effective Organizations, University of Southern California; former director, MSOD Program at Pepperdine University

“If you've been searching for a practical approach to large scale change and transformation, this is a book worth reading. It presents the ideas and approaches in a way that today's busy leaders can understand and operationalize. In the dialog about what works and what doesn't work, I think readers will recognize approaches they tried in the past that haven't produced the hoped-for results, and will see new directions that offer a reachable place from where to lead and catalyze results.” —Sue G. Murphy, chief operating officer, Kaiser Santa Clara Medical Center

“Linda and Dean are in a unique position to offer such comprehensive thinking, models, and tools for change, because they have devoted more than three decades to working directly with senior leaders and strategic consultants in numerous transformations across a wide variety of organizations. By doing the work, studying the theory, and reflecting on outcomes, they have captured both the basics and the nuances of change and integrated them into understandable models, processes, and tools. These books are essential reads for change leaders as the authors have advanced the theory and practice of planned change to new heights. Kurt Lewin would be proud!”—David W. Jamieson, Ph.D., practicum director, American University/NTL MS in OD Program; past president, American Society for Training & Development

“The Andersons capture the science and the art of orchestrating organizational change by providing both practical and insightful strategies and tools for leaders who must use strategic change as a thoughtful competitive advantage.”—Jackie Alcalde Marr, director, Organization and Talent Development, North America Oracle USA; coauthor of Social Media At Work; founder of Evolutions Consulting Group

“The Andersons bring their tremendous experience in OD to create what is truly a ‘road map’ for change, a road map that effectively translates abstract concepts into a concrete journey for successful change—probably the most critical issue in leadership today.”—Peter F. Sorensen, Ph.D., director, Ph.D. and Masters Programs in Organization Development, Benedictine University

This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the logics and structures of successful large-scale change. It is filled with practical tools and step-by-step guidance that will help you master the complex task of change management. —Diana Whitney, Ph.D., president, Corporation for Positive Change; author, Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization and The Power of Appreciative Inquiry.

“Beyond Change Management and The Change Leader's Roadmap are the best sources I know to learn how to lead and excel at change and business strategy execution.”—Eric Dillon, chief operating officer, Servus Credit Union Ltd.

“When I discovered Being First and their approach to leading transformational change, I knew I had found what I was searching for!  The methodology  described in this book is very comprehensive, teaching you how to be disciplined in your thinking and most importantly, how to be a conscious change leader.”—Louise Branch, assistant deputy minister, Service Canada, Atlantic Region

“In The Change Leader’s Roadmap, Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson guide leaders safely through the turbulence of leading change, helping leaders mitigate the dangers of overwhelm, chaos, and uncertainty. Whether you are launching new products, restructuring, cutting costs, or growing, you’ll learn how to take effective action with confidence. This is a must-read for any consultant or change leader who wants a clear path to navigate transformational change successfully.”—Faith Ralston, Ph.D., author, Dream Teams, Emotions@Work, and Play Your Best Hand

“Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson are to be congratulated for producing a well crafted and insightful text. The Change Leader’s Roadmap skillfully combines a range of conceptual insights with practical tools and techniques that will greatly assist educators, students, and practitioners of change. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in leading change effectively.”—David Grant, professor of Organizational Studies, University of Sydney

“The Change Leader's Roadmap is a uniquely effective success methodology in the change initiatives I have led. It is at the same time the most comprehensive set of strategies and tools I have come across globally and the most practical in its guidance toward the ones that will work best in each individual situation.”—Christian Forthomme, CEO, RealChange Network, Inc.  

“The Change Leader’s Roadmap is critical reading for leaders navigating organization transformation in times of uncertainty.  The Anderson’s book provides a powerful and practical toolkit for anyone trying to create a positive pathway to change!  You will learn how to navigate and manage change that enhances the performance of your organization. This book provides the roadmap to lead you in the right way.”—Jacqueline M. Stavros, associate professor, director, Doctorate of Business Administrative, Lawrence Technological University

“If you missed the Anderson’s first editions, you may not know what a terrific contribution they are to the field of Organization Development. Now you have a second chance to read these excellent new editions from these gifted writers. These books are essential reading to those who want to become master practitioners in this field.”—Jane Magruder Watkins, coauthor, Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination

“The Change Leader’s Roadmap moves beyond theory and grounds you in practical application. Reading this book will alter how you lead change. It not only informs you, but provides you with a framework for guiding people through transformation to get to your outcomes.”—Zoe MacLeod, director, Centre for Applied Leadership and Management, Royal Roads University

”Significant transformation in an organization is unbelievably difficult, yet this book provides a practical and reliable methodology for those of us that are change leaders. This approach is so useful because it indicates the required steps while keeping a focus on the desired results of the transformation.”
—Nick Neuhausel Partner, Senn Delaney

“The perfect companion for any project manager. The detailed tasks and deliverables in this book can be inserted directly into your next project schedule to insure implementation success.” —Ben Snyder, CEO, Systemation

“We’ve all had those rare experiences where extraordinary results are produced through great teamwork and a commitment to delivering on that which may occur as impossible. And yet the ability to distinguish what made those breakthroughs possible, such that an organization can reliably produce such results again and again, may remain elusive. That is, until you are guided through the paradigm shift and steps of conscious change in The Change Leaders Roadmap!”—Barbara Plumley, vice president regional operations,  HealthCare Partners Medical Group

“This book will help leaders at all levels better understand the critical components of sustainable change. Often we focus on just content and neglect the human dynamics to our own peril.” —Katie Holmes, system director change strategy and consulting, PeaceHealth