7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change: Micro Shifts, Macro Results

By: Esther Derby

Narrated by: Caroline Miller

Change is difficult but essential - Esther Derby offers seven guidelines for change by attraction, an approach that draws people into the process so that instead of resisting change, they embrace it.

Even if you don’t have change management in your job description, your job involves change. Change is a given as modern organizations respond to market and technology advances, make improvements, and evolve practices to meet new challenges. This is not a simple process on any level. Often, there is no indisputable right answer, and responding requires trial and error, learning, and unlearning. Whatever you choose to do, it will interact with existing policies and structures in unpredictable ways. And there is, quite simply, a natural human resistance to being told to change.

Rather than creating more rigorous preconceived plans or imposing change by decree, Agile software developer turned organizational change expert Esther Derby offers change by attraction, an approach that is adaptive and responsive and engages people in learning, evolving, and owning the new way. She presents a set of seven heuristics - guides to problem-solving - that empower people to achieve outcomes within broad constraints using their personal ingenuity and creativity.

When you work by attraction, you give space and support for people to feel the loss that comes with change and help them see what is valuable about the future you propose. Resistance fades because people feel there is nothing to push against - only something they want to move toward. Derby’s approach clears the fog to provide a new way forward that honors people and creates safety for change.

©2019 Esther Derby (P)2019 Esther Derby

Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!

Great narration and absolutely wonderful knowledge share! I finally picked up a book that offered something real and not another blow-hards biased opinion. For me, this book was up there. I will go back to this one over and over. ESTHER, you are a gift to the world and a true scientist. Caroline, your narration is flawless. Bravo!!! A terrific book for leaders and near leaders looking to truly improve and bring their best to work. If all leaders worked this way, the hell and torture that is the typical organization today, might actually become an enjoyable and rewarding endeavor for all contributors.

The Right Book at The Right Time

As someone who has worked in agile transformation as a scrum master and program manager - on both sides of business operations and technology - this book came into my life at the right time. The book shows new ways of creating the transformation journey that is opposite of command and control. I highly recommend this book for those who lead teams in either business or technology.

Fantastic and immediately applicable.

It's so, so tempting to "install" change, and then Ms. Derby gives example after example of more effective, less painful ways to sense and respond to context while achieving hoped for outcomes.

Not happy

Can’t even get thru the first chapter horrible! Won’t try for a third time. Tossing this book out the window.

Too much

There are some good thoughts on change, but frankly there is just too much. I felt like the 7 rules were broken down into 10 parts each. I try to find one thing I want to learn from a book to improve myself. With everything going on in this quick read I walked away with nothing.