Walter McFarland is the 2013 Chairman of ASTD and a consulting executive focused on the leadership of large-scale organizational change. He is a former Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton.
About Choosing Change: How Leaders and Organizations Drive Results One Person at a Time
What’s your best opportunity for succeeding in business?
If there’s one certainty in business today, it’s this: Change is coming your way. You have no choice in the matter. The choice you do have is either to embrace it or bury your head in the sand.
In Choosing Change, ASTD Chairman Walter McFarland and leadership executive coach Susan Goldsworthy offer a proven new model for not just facing inevitable change–but leveraging it as a tool for long-term success. The first step is personal: You must decide that you are going to change; only then can you lead change. From there, the authors present the tactics and strategies you need to compete today.
Organized into two thematic sections, Choosing Change takes you step-by-step through the authors’ dynamic model for leading any company to success. Part I explains how to apply the newest research findings in psychology, neuroscience, and executive development to implement change in yourself. Part II focuses on organizational theory, management, and organizational learning, showing you how to integrate change into your organizational DNA. Each section makes the process easy to understand by breaking it down into the Five Ds:
- Disruption: An experience or event that triggers a conscious choice to change
- Desire: Committing to goals and deciding upon the change necessary to meet them
- Discipline: Consistently taking steps that build the momentum required for sustainable change
- Determination: Developing the resilience to focus and deliver even when faced with setbacks
- Development: Establishing a system for continuous improvement, feedback, and ongoing learning
If you want to survive and flourish in today’s business world, you must be prepared to adapt to changing marketplace circumstances. Sudden changes in markets, society, and the economy have ruined industryleading companies overnight–because they weren’t change-focused.
Don’t be one of them. Lead yourself and your organization to the top–and stay there–by Choosing Change.
