Organizations are under continued pressure to improve and innovate products and services to remain relevant and sustainable. In many cases, some form of “transformation” program is conceived to help achieve this aim. The transformation itself may include the deployment of systems and processes that make the organization more capable of sustaining improvements and driving future change. “Change Agents” often act as coaches, trainers, mentors, and facilitators to embed change. In practice, these Change Agents must deal with resistance throughout different levels of the organization. These Change Agents must be able to act as flexible, multi-situational problem solvers, and teachers of those problem-solving skills. Only organizations that have developed a strong problem-solving capability can hope to survive for sustained periods of time.

This book describes many of the obstacles that Change Agents must overcome and the knowledge they need to make them credible with both leaders and the workforce they are tasked with navigating through an organizational transformation. Technical subjects such as diagnostic and improvement tools are described as well as pointing the reader in the direction of relevant theory and practical advice from the authors who have collectively more than 45 years of experience in such roles. Subject matter expertise in Lean Operations, Theory of Constraints, Six Sigma, Change Management, Excellence Models, Daily Management, and Problem Solving is used to describe some essential frameworks that can be brought together in a powerful system of improvement to aid organizations, but most importantly to support and encourage the Change Agent wherever they are in their career.

At some point, leaders and managers will also be expected to act as Change Agents. This work brings together simple, universal, accessible, and practical resources to help guide those front-line Change Agents regardless of particular industry or experience.