Embracing, not resisting, change to survive: What I learned from frogs in Texas: Saving your skin with forward-thinking innovation. Jim Carroll. Publisher: Oblio Press, Ontario, Canada; 121 pages; $18.66
✍ Scribed by Theresa Zimmerman
- Book ID
- 102349618
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 137 KB
- Volume
- 25
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1074-4797
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Embracing, not resisting, change to survive J im Carroll is passionate about spreading his message that organi- zations need to embrace change rather than resist it or view it as a foe. In this 121-page quick read, Carroll declares that organizations must be forward thinking and innovative in order to survive in a fast paced, rapidly changing world.
The skills Carroll obtained through his background in accounting enable him to effectively analyze developing trends, provide insights into probable future changes and guide the development of leadership skills that will be necessary for future organizational success.
What I Learned From Frogs in Texas begins with descriptions of recent world events and trends that have had an impact on corporate decision-makers' ability to take risks. Carroll specifically references the dot-com collapse and the uncertainty that the events of 9/11 have caused. He also describes corporate issues of governance and ethics that have affected corporations' capacity to act quickly and to take risks that are necessary to remain competitive.
Carroll then graphically makes an example of distracted frogs that get squished by oncoming cars. He projects that phenomenon into an analogy regarding corporate culture: If the culture of the corporation is overly distracted by the events of its day-to-day existence, it too will be squished (overtaken by competitive forces).
Carroll has a flair for keeping the reader's attention. Of particular interest to risk managers is his perspective regarding changes in career paths. He describes the current environment as one where professions are being subdivided into specializations. He believes that knowing how to use and access those specializations is becoming a role in and of itself. This trend of developing sub-specializations is certainly obvious in the health care arena and can be witnessed in the field of risk management with the evolution of the chief risk officer, the financial risk officer and the clinical risk manager roles... each a sub-specialty in its own right.
Carroll describes eight sweeping trends that affect the way people conduct business. He focuses on the fact that change is occurring quicker than ever. With rapid advances in technology and communications, he points out that corporations as well as individual professionals need to identify, react and respond very quickly to developing trends in order to maintain a competitive advantage.