BOOK REVIEW
Book Title: Agilizing the Enterprise: Collaborative Leadership, Dynamic Strategy and Organizational Flexibility
Author: Joseph Raynus
Publisher: CRC Press
List Price: $79.95
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
Publication Date: June 2018
ISBN: 978-1-138-19797-8
Reviewer: Carolyn Hue, PMP
Review Date: March 2019
Introduction
The book “Agilizing the Enterprise” provides a conceptual insight into how strategic innovation enables businesses, companies and organizations to adapt to changes. The author talks about the inevitability of an organization to respond to change in order to survive the competition, and likens its failure to do so to the fall of civilization. Agility is depicted as a character or mindset to be responsive to change whether to external environment or within the organization. A successful response requires a planned effective solution.
Overview of Book’s Structure
The author adopts a narrative approach using several classroom scenarios, and through conversations between a professor and a former student who experiences frustration at his existing job through his job changes and identifying an agile organization. Discussion topics include volatility, uncertainty, complex ambiguity (VUCA) environment in chapter 3, agility mindset, problem solving, innovation, and strategy through the rest of the chapters in the book.
Highlights
In chapter 5, the author pointed out that “failure to adapt to change is deeply rooted in the processes and techniques” (pg. 52). However, organizational responses can be distinguished as unplanned or planned changes. Unplanned changes are unanticipated, while planned changes are always strategic (pg. 60- 61). For strategic change implementation to be successful, the organization need to do gap analysis of its current state and respond effectively to VUCA driven changes. These strategic changes can be implemented progressively or it could be revolutionary, and should be managed with good communication.
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About the Reviewer
Carolyn Hue, PMP
Maryland, USA
Carolyn Hue is currently an Independent PM consultant, with ten years of experience in project and program management. She has worked mostly in the IT public sector environment, engaging in a wide range of technology projects, process improvement initiatives, and managing IT cloud services operation. She has been PMP certified since 2012, and also holds ITIL Foundation v3 and Service Strategy certifications. Her other passions are travelling, and volunteering in PMI and other non-profit organizations.
Carolyn can be contacted at cjc09001@yahoo.com
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