If you saw this book in the airport bookshop some of you would reach out with interest and buy it with confidence. Others would pass it over: “it's a case study, generalising would be unproductive, even risky”; “my industry is so different to the world of Unilever foods”; “I don't need all that detail and documentation, just give me the essence of the story and its implications.”
So let me provide you with a reason as to why we could all benefit considerably by poring over this book.
The greatest of all management writers, Peter Drucker, reminds us that we all have our personal “theories” of management, of organisations, of human behaviour, and indeed of organisational change and learning. Given the pace of change and developments in our body of knowledge it is essential that we regularly surface, challenge, validate and develop these “theories” to ensure our continued effectiveness and relevance. This book To the Desert and Back is an excellent catalyst that can enable each of us to evolve our personal knowledge and understanding of organisational learning. But more of this anon!
To the Desert and Back is a first‐hand account of a series of major transformations in a Dutch based food‐manufacturing division of Unilever. Like many stores it begins with trauma, threat and pain; a business is at the point of turnaround or burial. We've all seen this dismal situation. Poor management has brought the division to its knees. The authors proceed to provide a first hand and carefully documented account of three cycles of organisational transformation. Their description is detailed and supported by primary evidence and extensive appendices and notes.
The book is structured into six segments. The first four document the case study from the wake up call through turnaround to a merger, an organisational, then a business transformation. Part five describes a period of crucial consolidation and planning for the future. Part six presents some concise and lucid takeaways for leading change: the lessons learnt form the five‐year journeys. These takeaways focus on change models and methods, on the role of theatre in individual and collective behaviour change, and the utility of holistic integration. In their descriptions and analyses the authors juxtapose some characteristics of successful change: personal and organisational growth, head and heart, outside in and inside out, top down and bottom up, order and chaos.
This book will appeal to many but not all readers. For as I alluded in my opening paragraph, a sample of one is difficult to extend to other organisations or industries. Notwithstanding, we can recognise many of the well‐documented and well‐understood elements of organisational change. There is the compelling imperative for change. There is a leader who provides a focal point of direction, of change agendas, processes and energy. There is the ever‐present reminder that change and learning can be messy and characterised by success, failure and setbacks. There are multiple levels of intervention and stages of development in the change process. There is not only an emphasis on tangible organisational structure systems and processes, but also due recognition of symbolism, ritual and ceremony. There is deliberate destruction of the past and creation of the future. There are serious attempts to influence both individual and collective behaviour. The comprehensiveness and magnitude of the program, together with the risks involved and the courage and foresight displayed will encourage the reader to thoroughly evaluate their own understanding of and approach to organisational change and learning. Because the issues are imbedded in a real life story this process of review and challenge is more effective than any checklist or change primer.
Let me now present three meta‐benefits in case I have until now failed to entice you between the covers of this book. First, the authors remind us all of what is possible in our efforts to stimulate organisational growth, renewal, performance and success. Change is as much a mind game as it is a set of tangible initiatives. Second, as in no other book that I have encountered, the authors put the case for mutual interdependency between personal and organisational growth. People who grow enable organisations to grow. Third, they remind us of the power of attending to the less tangible issues in change: rituals, ceremonies and icons. The power of theatre, of rites of passage, of risk taking and trust are all driven home in ways that remind us of the complexity of change.
In sum, the most compelling reason for seeking out this book does not appear in the book's preview or in its prestigious endorsements. This feature lies in the opportunity to surface, challenge and refine your own understanding of how we can enable organisations to learn and to change more effectively.
