A liberating look at the real reasons organization-wide improvement efforts fail and how, when all attempts have failed, you can help your organization to become great.

For all the planning and the good intentions, the fact remains that anywhere from 50 to 75 percent of significant efforts to improve the culture and productivity of an organization fail. That is a lot of wasted time, energy, and money. What lies behind this staggering statistic? What are the real obstacles to change that must be overcome?

As the authors of this eye-opening new work make clear, to enact real change, organizations need to shake off their immaturity and grow up. Shifting away from the tendency to lay all the blame on bad leadership, Why Organizations Struggle So Hard to Improve So Little: Overcoming Organizational Immaturity offers specific answers for why most organizational improvement efforts fail.

Why Organizations Struggle So Hard to Improve So Little explains the difficulties and dangers of organizational immaturity, then provides proven, effective tools and ideas for achieving change within the limitations of an immature organization. With this guide, leaders and other stakeholders will be able to determine the maturity level of an organization, get beyond prevailing myths about how change gets derailed, and identify potential areas for improvement.

Features
• Includes assessments, policy framework plans, training plans, strategic plans, and other skill-building documents
• Offers a bibliography with references to contemporary business improvement thinkers and key research into the likelihood of improvement failures
• Provides a comprehensive index for easy and quick identification of areas of interest

Highlights
• Identifies the real obstacles to change and helps stop the spiral of wasted resources devoted to change efforts
• Provides concrete steps to making change happen when all other efforts have failed
• Moves the blame for failure from the usual suspects—like leadership—to where it belongs
• Provides the tools for self-assessment, to help companies avoid spending thousands of dollars on a consultant

Martin Klubeck is a strategy and planning consultant in the Office of Information Technologies at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. Klubeck has a Masters in human resource development from Webster University. He has published numerous articles on metrics, taught cccupational leadership studies for Purdue University, and received the Quality Improvement Advocate award for his work in teaching quality management principles.

Michael Langthorne is a project manager in the Office of Information Technologies at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. Langthorne has published articles in numerous professional journals since 1978 and he was the distinguished recipient of a 1992 award from the International Communication Industries Association.

Donald Padgett is a program manager in the Office of Information Technologies at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. Padgett is an active Educause and ACM SIGUCCS member, presenting at conferences and symposiums and publishing articles on organizational improvement. He is also an entrepreneur and principal in the business ‘Play Like A Champion Today.’

Endorsements
"Why do the majority of change efforts and organizational improvement initiatives fail? In this great book, the authors reveal incisively what the real problem is, and how it can be overcome. They clarify a concept of organizational maturity that provides a new context for understanding how to launch change successfully in any group environment.

This is by far the best book available on one of the most perplexing organizational problems faced by almost every leader: how to stop wasting time and money launching organizational change and improvement efforts in ways that just don't work, and retool your whole approach for effective transformations. The authors develop a simple and brilliant solution to a problem that has plagued the corporate world for decades, and they provide readers with the tools for making it work. I highly recommend this radical, and yet common sense, guide to change.

This book will change the way you think about change!—Tom Morris
Chairman, Morris Institute for Human Values
Author of True Success, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, If Harry Potter Ran General Electric, and other books.

"What I like about this book is the authors understand there is no 'one size fits all' approach to organizational improvement. They do a great job of describing the different levels of organizational maturity as it relates to quality, which helps you recognize where your organization is, and where it needs to go. This is useful reading for anyone interested in improving their organization, whether you are a senior manager, or on the front lines with the customer. The authors recognize that quality is not just a one-sided equation focused on the final product or service offered to the customer--it encompasses every aspect of the customer experience from buying to packaging to service, and perhaps most importantly, is defined by both the customer and the employee. A must read for any quality-focused change agent.'

"—Jim Halloran
Continuous Improvement Manager, Six Sigma Black Belt, and ASQ Team Excellence Medalist

"This book walks you through common obstacles to change like a trusted advisor. The plain-speaking, common sense approach helps you and your organization mature and achieve the results you want.'—Jay W. Vogt
President, Peoplesworth
Author, Recharge Your Team: The Grounded Visioning Approach

"Sometimes we think that 'change' in our organization will re-boot our business and solve all our problems. Why Organizations Struggle So Hard To Improve So Little points out that a key element in any change strategy is maturity. Are we really ready to change? In a wonderful guide to real organizational change, this book will help you determine when and how real change is possible. If you need to move your business in a new direction you HAVE to read this book!"—Chester Elton, Co-author of The Carrot Principle

"Finally--a book that cuts through the maze of false starts and failures that have frustrated both leaders and workers seeking organizational change for years. This straight-talking handbook provides a roadmap any organization can use to define its culture and then confidently march forward with realistic expectations of the outcome. Read this before spending a dime on anyone’s program. . . you’ll be better prepared to make smart decisions for your organization."—Don Schafer, Colonel, USAF, Retired