Reading English Books | Managing Transitions - Making the Most of Change (1)

This is a series project where we enjoy reading English books to improve our English skills.

The second book in this intensive reading series is a business book. We will be covering
"Managing Transitions - Making the Most of Change" by William Bridges.

I would like to write mainly about my observations from the perspectives of HR and an English learner.
I will be posting as I read through it, so I would appreciate your support.

▼ Click here for the reasons for selecting this book and the policy for these articles

Ch.1: It Isn't the Changes That Do You In

📚 Words & Phrases for Reading Business Books

• do you in: to ruin, exhaust, or defeat you

• internalize: to make something an internal part of one's own nature or belief system

• come to terms with: to accept or reach an understanding about a difficult situation or an unchangeable fact

• get around to: to avoid or bypass something

• top-notch: first-class, highest quality, or extremely excellent

• fold A into B: to successfully incorporate or integrate A into B

• head south: (for a situation or condition) to deteriorate or go wrong

• whopping: enormous, huge, or massive

• inwardly: internally, in one's mind, or on the inside

• repatterning: the process of restructuring, rearranging, or creating new patterns

🖋 Actionable Tips & Key Takeaways You Can Use Right Now

This chapter defines that there are three phases to a transition, and that "Transition Management" consists of the activities that help people navigate through each phase.

For those working hard on the front lines every day, it is easy to imagine that phases 1 and 2 are the most difficult. However, when organizational or company reforms actually take place, isn't it the case that most of the time, they skip those painful phases and jump straight to phase 3?

Let's use a breakup as an example. It's like ending a relationship and, without even having time to process your feelings, starting to date someone new on the very same day—corporate organizations do this all the time. (I will leave it to the readers to judge whether this is an appropriate example.)

Anyway, moving on. The Neutral Zone is a place where I have seen people choose to change jobs or step down from their roles due to the discomfort of being thrown into what feels like a "no-man's-land." If you are a company employee, I think you have seen a similar scene at least once.

To achieve new goals, new methods are required, but adapting to them takes time and energy.

My case of learning English was the same. Three months ago, I shifted from studying reading, writing, and grammar to focusing on English conversation. I struggled because I couldn't see results immediately (and I still do). However, by understanding these three phases, I was able to give a name to my struggle and organize my thoughts. Furthermore, since there is no necessity or rationality in suddenly jumping to 3. The New Beginning, and I can understand intellectually that "it just takes time," the impatience and pressure of not seeing results quickly have been reduced.

👀 kuro's perspective: My Insights & Thoughts

When initiating organizational reform or change, many managers focus on efficiency and future financial benefits. That is, of course, logical and the first thing to consider as a for-profit organization. However, the concept of Transition Management takes an analytical approach to "human adaptation."

Events like changes in business processes, a change in CEO, or even marriage are changes themselves. But transition includes the internal process of how humans feel and behave during those changes. After reading this chapter, I captured the image of Change as a point, and Transition as a line.

And, focusing on the "sense of loss" of those involved was a very new perspective for me. Ignoring the time people need to say goodbye to their old environment and come to terms with a new reality carries the risk of causing even the most perfectly planned change to "head south" in an instant.

In business, efficiency and rationality tend to come first, but it is moody humans with hearts who make up an organization. In the next chapter, I will touch on the "How" of managing such people through change.

Unlike "Murder on the Orient Express," this has become content-focused and is more like a reading log. Please note that since there is no explanation of the English text, this article might be a bit underwhelming for English learners. I plan to write about my own interpretations from an HR perspective and applications to real life, so please continue to follow me.

If you are thinking of learning English through foreign books, why not join in and read along with me? I'm looking for fellow readers!

▼ Past series articles are stocked here.