Our books

Real Time Strategic Change: How to Involve an Entire Organization in Fast and Far-Reaching Change

Robert W. Jacobs

An Executive Book Club Selection
Over 25,000 sold

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (www.bkconnection.com)
Hard cover—335 pages (1994)/ISBN: 1-88105-245-1
Paperback—335 pages (1997)/ISBN: 1-57675-030-2

This is the first book on Real Time Strategic Change. It has all the tools, techniques, agendas, and to do’s you’ll need to plan and lead your own RTSC event.

There are also stories about how Marriott Hotels, Ford Motor Company, Kaiser Permanente, First Nationwide Bank, United Airlines, and others have used RTSC.

“Ford was the first company to use the approach described in this book. It made a difference during an important time in the life of the company, when we needed to move fast and get people connected to each other and our new strategic direction.”

- Donald Petersen, retired Chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Company

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Collaborating for Change: Real Time Strategic Change

Robert W. Jacobs and Frank McKeown

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (www.bkconnection.com)
Booklet—43 pages (1999)
ISBN: 1-58376-047-4

A chapter from The Change Handbook on how RTSC has evolved.

• Introduces the six principles underlying all RTSC work
• Describes who needs to do what during the three phases of RTSC work
• Includes case studies of RTSC efforts in Mobil’s Gulf of Mexico operations and Sedgwick County, Kansas

"An important 'roadmap' to achieving major change in large organizations. An opportunity to drive strategic changes faster and more effectively."

-- John Devine, Chairman, First Nationwide Bank

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You Don’t Have To Do It Alone: How to Get Things Done by Involving Others

Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (www.bkconnection.com)
Soft cover — 168 pages (Oct. 2004/ISBN: 1-57675-278-X)

Ever have too much on your plate but didn’t want to ask for help because of the “hassle factor” of involving others?

With You Don’t Have to Do It Alone you’ll:

• Lighten your load,
• Finish faster, and
• Get the job done better

Follow the five steps in the book and you’ll have the right people doing good work together from the start to the finish of any project.
Whether you’re CEO of a major corporation, director of an inner city hospital, or PTA volunteer raising money for after-school programs, You Don’t Have to Do It Alone is for you.

Described by The New York Times as “the complete blueprint for involving others” and “the best of the current crop of books on this topic".

"This book is an excellent resource -- use it!"
- Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager

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The Change Handbook: The Definitive Resource on Today's Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems

(edited by Steve Cady, Peggy Holman, and Tom Devane) with Robert W. Jacobs and 30 other contributing authors

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (www.bkconnection.com)
Paperback original— 732 pages (2007/ ISBN-13: 978-1576753798)

• Compares Real Time Strategic Change to 30 other methods to involve large groups in creating their collective future
• Includes new case study on how four New York City agencies, 300 funders, and thousands of providers agreed how to provide out of school care for 1.1 million

“The Out-of-School-Time project was critical. We had to get hundreds of stakeholders to agree on a mission, goals, and success criteria for how care was provided for children – many of whom were at risk of getting into trouble on the streets. RTSC helped us pull people with different agendas together for the common good.”
Mary McCormick, President, Fund for the City of New York

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Articles and Chapters

Positively M.A.D.: Making a Difference in Your Organizations, Communities, and the World

(edited by Bill Treasurer) with Robert W. Jacobs and 30 other contributing authors

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. (www.bkconnection.com)
Paperback original— 188 pages (2005/ ISBN-10: 1576753123)

M.A.D. stands for Making A Difference. Positively M.A.D. is about how to do it. This book shows that getting M.A.D. doesn’t mean getting angry, or getting even — it means using personal power to effect larger change.

Jake wrote two stories in the book.

• Our Only Choice is to Make It Work. Nata Preis, Principal of Village Glen School in Culver City, California tells how she and her staff lead a school for children with special needs. “Lots of people have given up on these kids. The difference we make is that we never do give up. We just have never said, ‘There’s nothing we can do.’ Our only choice is to make it work.” Read More
• Ingredients for Making a Difference. Joh Broughton, Executive Director of a local theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan tells how she spearheaded a ten-year effort to transform the theatre. In that time they built a new play space, won many regional awards for quality productions, and national acclaim from playwrights and critics. Read More

Beat the Odds and Succeed in Organizational Change

Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs

Creating Dynamic, Energy-Producing Meetings

Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs

Leader to Leader, volume 17, no. 2, June 2006

We have a love-hate relationship with meetings. Sometimes we leave them energized, brimming with ideas, and eager to move forward. Too often though, we leave drained, numb, and wondering what we were doing there in the first place. The reason we have to sit through lousy meetings are often failed rituals. Read More

How Do I Keep People Involved

Richard H. Axelrod, Emily M. Axelrod, Julie Beedon and Robert W. Jacobs

Our Children, Burrelles-Luce, September, 2006

Sometimes it’s easy to get people to volunteer to help, but often much harder to keep them involved till the work is done. Here are five ways to make sure that doesn’t happen to you:

• Keep reminding people why they got involved in the first place
• Keep the key people involved
• Support People So They Want to Stay Involved
• Keep an open mind about who stays involved
• Don’t worry if a few team members opt out