Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within (US Business & Management Series)

According to Quinn, "Incremental change is usually the result of a rational analysis and planning process. There is a desired goal with a specific set of steps for reaching it. Incremental change is usually limited in scope and often reversible. If the change does not work out, we can always return to the bold way. Incremental change usually does not disrupt our past patterns -- it is an extension of the past. Most important, during incremental change, we feel we are in control." Does all this sound familiar? Has Quinn described accurately how change occurs within your organization?

Now consider a second brief excerpt: "This book explores a much more difficult change process, the process of deep change. Deep change differs from incremental change in that it requires new ways of thinking and behaving. It is change that is major in scope, discontinuous with the past and generally irreversible. The deep change effort distorts existing patterns of action and involves taking risks. Deep change means surrendering control." Decades ago, David Riesman made the helpful distinction between "inner-directed" and "other-directed" people. The same can also be said of organizations (communities of people) when determining the nature, extent, and location of control. Quinn believes that "one person can change the larger system or organization in which he or she exists." If I understand Quinn correctly, his central assertion is this: If and only if enough individuals achieve deep change individually can their shared organization then achieve deep change.

This is a very dangerous concept. Unlike incremental change, deep change poses a very serious threat to the status quo of an organization and, especially, to those who (you can be certain) will steadfastly defend it. There will also be perils for those who seek to achieve deep change in their individual lives. Cherished assumptions, premises, values, and beliefs will all be called into question and many of them will be found inadequate, if not false. As Quinn describes it, those undergoing deep change will feel as if they are "walking naked into the land of uncertainty." He acknowledges "This is usually a terrifying choice, often involving a ` dark night of the soul.'" In Riesman's view, that person becomes inner-directed. For Quinn, that person is "internally driven...more capable of leading under conditions of continuous change...more organic."

What is the alternative? Quinn's answer: "slow death." I am reminded of a relevant insight expressed by Ernest Becker in The Denial of Death. He acknowledges that no one can deny physical death but there is another death which anyone can deny: the death which occurs when we become wholly preoccupied with fulfilling others' expectations of us. A slow death indeed. If you wish to achieve deep change in your life, and are now involved in an organization which can only tolerate incremental change (if any change at all), I urge you to find another organization.


Give me change or give me slow death!!   August 31, 2001
J. Fish (Martinez, CA USA)
50 out of 52 found this review helpful

I have sifted through many works of many authors; notably Senge's Fifth Discipline and Dance of Change, Covey's 7 Habits, and John Kotter's Leading Change; each providing valuable gifts in my own journey toward leadership of change in the healthcare organization I work in. As a physician, I am naturally a bit skeptical of 'managerial speak' and recognize how the professional culture of medicine recoils at the invasion of our professional language by 'corporate-speak.'
The profound challenges and dilemmas faced by the healthcare industry at this moment kept my nose in these books, searching, searching, searching for ways to bring clarity to the chaos of a once stable and rewarding profession.
As I took on a new post as "Director of Patient Safety" I found myself wading through even murkier waters than I had found within the context of my profession.
And then I came upon this book.
Stories, parables, myths: a language that transcends all 'cultures'. Ahhhhhhhhh, such a refreshing, concise, simple and brilliant work!
Simple yet far from easy.
There is nothing easy about this work.
To change what is "out there" I must look inward and face my own myths, dragons, fears, and shortcomings.
The only way to change the world is to change myself.

I can already feel the change within myself. Remarkable, remarkable.

I recommend it unconditionally to any and all that feel trapped, frustrated, or impeded in any way in their life's journey.

Thank you Mr. Quinn.


Essential for Anyone Seeking To Become a Leader   May 24, 2002
Marybeth (Massachusetts)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

I have wasted a ton of money on management books -- which are now gathering dust in the bookshelves. Most were written by academics who provide the most obvious answers to complex organizational issues.

Robert Quinn -- while an academic -- never leaves my desk at work. In Deep Change, Becoming a Master Manager and Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture, Quinn shows a deep understanding of organizational life and the fact that systems do not transform without our own individual transformation. But, he doesn't stop there. His work provides concrete tools to guide your individual transformation and your company's culture.

Outstanding work; pleasure to read! Thank you!


Slow death or deep change...the only two choices?   September 8, 2000
Jim Danielson
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

My job as an associate pastor in a large church has me coordinating a number of support groups. These groups include Divorce Recovery, Grief Support for Death of a Loved One, Alcohol and Drug Addictions, Weight Control, and more. I believe this book may hold some of the key to success in helping people move through change.

I also believe that Robert Quinn is correct when he maintains that people and organization have but two main choices...

1. Slow death, or 2. Deep change

Quinn maintains that today it is impossible to remain the same because everything around us is changing, and therefore we must change.

Early in his book, on page 6, he says, "It is now widely recognized that to remain competitive in today's global enviroment organizations must frequently make deep change. What is not so widely recognized is that organizational members must also make deep change."

He continues by saying, "...an organic organization is one that is responsive, acts quickly and in coordinated way, and can adjust and learn and grow." "...only organic individuals can create an organic organization."


Deep Change or Slow Death?   July 11, 2006
Graham Lawes (Stow, MA USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

In this wonderful book, Quinn challenges us to confront our own hypocrisy and make a choice between deep change or slow death -- that is to say between commitment or disengagement. It's actually not an easy choice to make. Most of us have taken the easy path and chosen not to speak out when w've known what needed to be changed. Or, we've run from a difficult work situation, leaving the problems behind for someone else to clean up, not admitting our part in the failure or taking responsibility for changing ourselves.

Quinn instructs us by modeling the behavior we need to follow. Particularly striking, for me, is his personal account of finding himself crying while writing a short story called "The Prophecy." This is a version of the story his mother had told him about his father, who, knowing that he was soon going to die, and seeing his newborn son for the first time, had said, "I think our boy is going to make his mark on the world."

Quinn explains that this true story about his father was etched in his consciousness and had great meaning for him. "In retelling the story I was retelling one of my core myths...I had always heard the story from the perspective of the woman. Now I was telling it from the point of view of a 38-year old man who was dying. The man was asking himself what his life had meant. There was no money, no house, no insurance policy, no signs of worldly success, no legacy to mark his passage."

"Years later, facing a midlife crisis, I was asking myself the very same questions about the meaning of my own life. Without even realizing it, I was trying to deal with the issues of impact and legacy," says Quinn, reflecting on the emotional impact of the story. "As all this become clear, I began to clarify what I wanted to do differently in my life. At work, for example, I took on a different perspective. I became more focused on my research. In my teaching and consulting, I became more caring yet more demanding. The resulting impact, in terms of outcome, was dramatic. I had a new perspective, and my life was changed. I became more empowered and more empowering."

This empowerment is demonstrated by Quinn's role in one intervention he made at one troubled company. In this intervention, Quinn conducted interviews, identified the core issues, and put his insights into writing, calling the resulting document the "Inner Voice of the Organization." This document was structured around eight questions and eight answers -- each answer describing a key issue facing the company and illustrated by a concrete example. Each of the eight issues had previously been "undiscussable," and each issue represented a weakness or need within the company. Quinn listed these issues as follows:

1. "The company is characterized by loyalty and considerable unused human potential
2. The organization must make deep change in order to become more viable and thus to be able to survive in a rapidly evolving world
3. The company is hampered by an unconscious conspiracy of silence and an inability to confront issues and identify needed adjustments
4. "Groupthink" is widespread, and models for constructive conflict are lacking
5. Certain key figures have favored individual good and self-interest over the collective good, and they have been reinforced
6. Everyone would like to believe that certain transparent issues are successfully kept secret. Individuals try to save face by pretending that no one knows what everyone knows--and the process works as long as no one listens to the organization's inner voice
7. A cohesive leadership team is lacking
8. The company has no clear, believable, and motivating vision"

Quinn sent the document to the CEO. He explained that it would be a useful tool to introduce at the outset of the program -- and proposed breaking the participants into five subgroups to discuss the five most important undiscussable issues honestly. He expected the CEO to reject the plan. Instead the CEO made a few factual corrections and agreed to it.

Most striking about this story, apart from the courage and honesty of the approach, is that it seems this identical list of eight issues could be applied to all companies, whether they're in trouble or not. It seems that the issues are universal, grounded in human nature, and that every company faces them to different degrees depending on their specific circumstances.

As Quinn puts it, there is often an "inner voice" in a company that everyone knows but dares not discuss. People know that if they do bring up these issues they will be marginalized and may be fired. It is a risky business to be a change agent, and Quinn does not underplay this. Speaking of one intervention at Ford, Quinn states that "Change means taking risks and facing the possibility of failure. Unfortunately, risk taking sometimes has a negative outcome...approximately 3 percent of participants reported being disciplined for taking initiative, and their anger was apparent. They told us, 'Your program is a fraud. The company doesn't want leaders; it wants conformists.'"

It doesn't take long for people in companies to learn that management cannot be trusted. In this light, it is amazing that around 12 percent in this same program at Ford were willing to engage in the riskiest form of change. The risk-takers were the people who reported higher scores on health, job satisfaction and personal relationships. Surprisingly, they were also usually the oldest participants. "We believe that they had reached a career plateau yet had maintained a positive outlook. They were loyal to Ford and eager to make a positive contribution. Their perception of the "risk-reward ratio" was different...They were willing to confront the pressures of conformity and pay the price of deep change."

So, even in the most jaded of organizations, there are always people able and willing to take a risk to improve the organization for themselves and others -- a finding which is as encouraging as it is surprising.

This is a compelling and useful book. It's written in a poetic way with a deep level of commitment and personal revelation. On the other hand, it's not for those looking for a quick fix. People who assume that the problem is with others and that they can be changed by instruction and coercion will not find it useful. Also, I found the exercises for reflection and discussion were valuable, but hard to use. What's needed, instead, I believe, is a daily practice regimen for personal reflection, and a more carefully designed, more usable set of exercises for use in management teams -- exercises that do not require all participants to have read the book.

However, these are minor criticisms. What differentiates this from the vast majority of other books by business school professors -- and what saves it from irrelevancy -- is the depth of the passion it conveys. Also, the real-life examples. Quinn epitomizes deep change.

If you are a change agent, or intend to become one you should read this book. It has the power to change your life. It could, in fact, be the only book you need. However, I think it will work best when read alongside others. I recommend starting with "Dance of Change," by Peter Senge and some of his colleagues from the Society for Organizational Learning. This will provide an additional perspective, including a wealth of examples of both successful and unsuccessful change efforts and a list of the key impediments to change, consolidating the message that many of the barriers to change are within ourselves.

If you read this book, you are sure to come away with a few ideas you can use or insights that will be of value. I, for one, will not easily forget that I do indeed need to make the choice every day between the slow death of apathy, and the deep change of personal growth. In the end -- hard as it may be -- the choice of reflection and deep change is the only one that makes sense.

Graham Lawes