Change Management Book Review
HB 708
February 2, 2012
The Six P’s of Change by Pat Rocchi was book about change that did not just focus on change within organizations but personal change as well. I selected the book because the abstract caught my attention because I am currently going through a career change and I felt this book would be beneficial to me making those changes, and it was. Pat Rocchi was a professional communicator and marketer for corporations before he wrote this book and became a motivational speaker. His experience in that field gave him the ability to communicate change to others. He realized he had a gift for handling upheaval in the workplace, and decided to write a book about it. The six “P’s” are Perception, Perspective, Prognostication, Proactive Preparation, Planning and Performance. These six are not separate thoughts, but are a step by step process to work through change.
Step one: Perception
Rocchi discusses in the book how to develop the perception that change is reality. It is inevitable that change will occur in our lives and nobody is immune to it happening to them. We have to expect the unexpected. However, we can’t live our lives being paranoid of change, but instead live in a state of preparedness. He suggest remembering this mantra: “you can’t control change; you can control only your reaction to it.”
Step two: Perspective
One must gain the perspective that change is often neither all positive nor all negative. This is important to remember in business situations as well as one’s personal life. People refer to the “good old days,” and they are usually replaced by a set of good new days. Change is all about what you make of it. Positive change brings good fortune, however negative change is more difficult. However, negative change “can be a catalyst for renewal or advancement if you turn that change to your advantage.” I experienced this myself recently when I lost my job. At the time it happened I thought it was...