Trainers shackle young elephants to deeply embedded stakes to make them stay in one place. Older elephants never try to leave even though they have the strenght to pull the stakes and move beyond. Using this analogy, the author shows how many organizations are stuck fast in obsolete working methods and practices which completely disqualify them from success, or even survival, in today's hectic, ever-changing business environment. This book describes over 100 organizations - from IBM, American Express, British Airways, Amstrad, Kodak, Benetton and McDonalds to universities and government agencies - which have stayed successful, or recovered from the brink of disaster, by their effective management of change and empowerment of employees right through the organization from top to bottom.
