Make the Direction Clear

Changes in leadership or business strategy send ripples of concern through a company's employees, shareholders, customers and communities even before the changes are announced. Proactively manage these stories of change and leverage your corporate culture by publishing a company history book or family business history book. A book will put the change in perspective, explain it in the context of a larger history, mission and vision, and assure people that continuity will be maintained—or that it won't.

To be sure, the success of a major change in strategy or leadership depends on how a company delivers, but equally important is the gap between expectations and reality—that is, how well a company prepares its stakeholders and aligns them with the need for, rationale behind and benefits of a change.

Provide a Reason to Believe

There is nothing like a company history book to credibly show how certain values, practices and principles have paid off over time; a book will remind people that the company has succeeded through change before and will give them reason to believe that it can do so again. At the same time, a book will articulate a new direction and help employees and other insiders contribute to rather than resist it. For outsiders, especially shareholders, customers, partners and community leaders, a book will explain the value they will derive from the change.

Essex Publishing Group’s principals have spent two decades helping business leaders inform, educate, inspire and motivate stakeholders during times of change. Let us a produce a book that will be a powerful tool in managing your next major transition.