As part of my job, I do a lot of flying. While waiting at airports and on aircraft, I read books - the hard or soft cover kind.
On a recent flight, I read the book, Selfish Altruism: Managing & Executing Successful Change Initiatives. Written by change management consultant Moe Glenner, it examines the often-ignored human element in business change initiatives and offers advice on using personal motivation to produce lasting results.
“If we define altruism as ‘for the greater good’ and selfish as ‘me first,’ then even a selfish act can be altruistic,” Glenner says. “Even though an employee could be facilitating a change for a higher salary (selfish), it will benefit the organization (altruistic).
“Intent is not as relevant as the end result.”
Glenner believes “selfish” employees can support the greater good, while employees that lack personal motivation often stall or even kill an organization’s change initiatives.
While other books center exclusively on corporate strategy or personal change, Glenner’s book marries personal motivation to corporate vision.
Change management
The book provides an arsenal of change management strategy and tactics, including ways to:
- Execute change using a personal return on investment.
- Communicate effectively with executives, management and employees.
- Harness the potential of the selfish employee.
- Stop lollygaggers, resisters and the “Silent Saboteur.”
“Behind every organization there are real people with real emotions,” points out Glenner. “For better or worse, we know human emotions are not simply discarded when entering a corporate atmosphere. If left unchecked, they can wreak havoc on an organization’s change initiatives.”
Selfish Altruism is an interesting read.
