Author: Ralph Masengill,Jr., Author

Ralph Masengill Jr., the author of Conquer Change And Win, has been a proponent of change management for more than forty years. (2019, insert) He presents this tool and others at seminars across the USA for organizations and senior management as they embark on change. To learn more please visit his website.

Chapter one opens with what change is to which Masengill says “Know how to react to the feelings that the emotions of change always bring with them.” (2019, p.2) Then he offers the following regarding change. “Doing something different. All men and woman regard all change- both good and bad- with a feeling of loss, and that feeling of loss always creates some form of anxiety, anger, or fear.” (p.3)

Chapter two introduces the 20-50-30 Rule. According to Masengill “The rule states that 20 percent of your group or staff is going to be change friendly, 50 percent will be neutral, and 30 percent will be resisters.” (2019, p.9) Where do you generally fit into this Rule? Furthermore, he suggests that, “The Rule states that the leader should spend 100 percent of his or her time with the undecided group and the change-friendly group and ignore the resisters.”  Why? Because “The resisters cause 80 to 90 percent of the problems and make the most noise.”

In Chapter we learn about resistance to change. Masengill says that “Resisting change is normal.” (2019, p.12) To which he adds, “Some say that change isn’t the problem- resistance to change is.”

People can be difficult and Chapter four delves into how to deal with these difficult people. Chapter five speaks about attitudes and change. In Chapter six we learn that change can be positive or negative. Those perceptions depend on the circumstances that the change occurred in. Fear and anxiety accompany most change and Chapter seven talks about that dynamic. There are heading targeted at fighting this fear and anxiety so you can have a successful change outcome. There are many famous quotes interjected in each chapter to help cement this learning process.

Further along in this book we get to communication and change management. (2019, p.80) Masengill says that “…change management is a people business. Unless all management understands change- …fully change will not succeed.” Next, he touches on how to motivate your employees to be receptive to this change. Then, you (as the change agent) can begin to build your winning change teams and move this process forward. Toward the end Masengill introduces mission and vision statements and how they shape organizational change. (p.130) Implementing change is part of any change plan. There are three pillars for change to be successful. “Management on board, the correct plan in place, and implementing the plan with the team.” (p.145) Once the change is implemented you must manage that change. “Change management is all about people.” (p.152)

My degree specialization is in continuous process improvement which is all about change, sometimes constant change so I enjoyed reading and reviewing this book. Change is not always about your business life. It can also occur in your private life. If you want to see how that looks in black and white this may be the book for you.