One of the subjects we delve into during this section of the course is organizational change.  I enjoyed reading the book titled ¥cessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward” by Henry Cloud.  Here is an excerpt from the book:

èy endings?  Whether we like it or not, endings are a part of life.  They are woven into the fabric of life itself, both when it goes well, and also when it doesn.  On the good side of life, for us to ever get to a new level, a new tomorrow, or the next step, something has to end.  Life has seasons, stages, and phases.  For there to be anything new, old things always have to end, and we have to let go of them.  Infancy gives rise to toddlerhood, and must be forever shunned in order to get to the independence that allows a child to thrive.  Later, childhood itself must be given up for people to become the adults that they were designed to be.

Getting to the next level always requires ending something, leaving it behind, and moving on.  Growth itself demands that we move on.  Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.  

In business, endings often are absolute necessities for a turnaround or for growth to occur.  Businesses must sometimes let go of old product lines or even entire areas of business whose day has passed.  To get to the next level and often even to sustain their companies#urrent levels of health, business leaders must shut down yesteryearàgood ideas, strategies, or involvements in order to have the resources and focus to take their organizations to tomorrow.  Sometimes it means that employees have to be let go too./p>

ïme endings are not a next natural step but are just as necessary. In your opinon, why is change so difficult?

What symptoms should a manager look for in determining whether an organization needs to change?  What symptoms indicate that an organization has been through too much change?