Not necessarily, says Steve Kelman, Harvard professor and procurement czar during the Clinton administration. A good number of people, both inside and outside government, welcome change when it finally arrives.

And Kelman knows a thing or two about change. He was one of the leaders of the procurement reform movement of the 1990s that reduced bureaucracy and transformed the way government bought goods and services. Before the reform efforts, the Defense Department, for example, had to comply with 20 pages of specifications to buy cookie mix.

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Unleashing Change:
A Study of Organizational Renewal in Government
by Steven Kelman
Published by
Brookings Institution Press
www.brookings.edu
$29.95 paperback.

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Kelman argues that there often is a constituency that embraces change. The trick is to “activate the discontented. ... Often, change need not be cajoled or coerced. Instead, it can be unleashed.”

Once unleashed, change builds momentum, and support for change begins to feed on itself through positive feedback.

Don’t be put off by Kelman’s years in academia. He writes in a clear, readable style, using memorable examples and avoiding the usual management jargon. This 308-page book offers a clear road map for anyone looking to make organizational changes.