Terms of Engagement: New Ways of Leading and Changing Organizations

Organizational change pioneer Richard Axelrod explained in the first edition of Terms of Engagement why the old mechanistic approaches to change no longer worked, and offered four essential new principles that lead to an engaged organization: I. Widen the circle of involvement; II. Connect people to each other and ideas; III. Create communities for action; and IV. Practice democratic principles.

Drawing on numerous examples from such companies as Hewlett-Packard, Mercy Healthcare, First Union Bank, and others, Dick explained how the four principles of the Engagement Paradigm enabled leaders to create energy and commitment instead of apathy and resistance. Recognizing the potential for misapplication, he also showed how engagement can disengage, and identifies potential pitfalls to avoid.

In this revised 2nd Edition, Dick again focuses on the four engagement principles but updates them to reflect current thinking and trends. It focuses on leadership and engagement, contains updated research findings on employee engagement and productivity, and includes more case studies and stories from a wider range of industries and organizations.

Richard (Dick) Axelrod is a founder of, and principal in, The Axelrod Group, Inc. – a consulting firm focusing on employee-involvement to affect large-scale organizational change. Before forming The Axelrod Group, Dick was an organization development manager for General Foods, which was the first company in America to use self-directed work teams (a strategy whose philosophy made a great impact on the young manager). He now brings twenty-five years of consulting and teaching experience to his work, with clients including Boeing, Coca-Cola, Corning, First Union, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Kraft, and 3M.

Foreword author Peter Block is an organizational development guru and author of many successful books including Flawless Consulting and Community.