A Great Reference: The Change Handbook

It appears that the Nexus for Change is in part an offshoot of the publication of this new edition of The Change Handbook and The Handbook of Large Group Methods. Many of the editors and chapter authors of both will be in attendance at the Nexus.

A few weeks ago Nancy White, an author featured in The Change Handbook, offered a copy of the second edition to the first five commenters to a post on her blog. Since my comment was among the first five, Nancy forwarded a copy to me. (Thanks, Nancy!)

Saturday I opened the book and started reading - it was tough to put down. There are 61 different whole system change methods detailed in the handbook. The format makes the information readily accessible (what else would you expect from people passionate about organizational learning?) and eminently browsable. One-page descriptions and a longer chapter describe each method. The methods are presented in a consistent format that makes them easy to compare.

If that isn't enough, there are chapters that provide an overview of the emerging "field" of whole system change methods, as well as thoughts about what aspects are shared among the methods and what makes each unique. All in all, it's a great reference for organization development practitioners and community change activitists.



Tags: nexusforchange, changehandbook