Preface

In the pages that follow is a book which has been waiting to be written for some time. Long before this current partnership between Jim McKinlay and I came into place, each of us had an idea about a book that focused on people in organisations. Before the book could move from idea to reality, many events took place in our professional and personal lives, until finally in 2007 a unique combination of circumstances brought the book closer to realisation. Part of the thanks for this realisation goes to Dr Glyn Jones and Chandos Publishing, without whom this book may have remained simply unrealised.

My passion for this topic began in the 1990s, when I lived and led change through strategic planning at a large university library in Australia. Through that experience, I found and used some of the approaches outlined in the pages that follow. That experience also brought me on a visit to Canada, which provided the opportunity to meet and work with Jim McKinlay. An immediate professional connection and rapport was established, which was then rekindled a decade later when I arrived as a landed immigrant to Canada to be Dean at the University Library at the University of Saskatchewan.

After my 1990s experience of leading planning for change, I thought about writing a book but didn’t. Instead, I enrolled in a doctoral degree and used my experiences of innovation, strategic planning and change management as the basis of my doctoral research and thesis. It was this work that went on to receive the 1999 Award for Excellence in Post-Graduate Research in Education from the Australian College of Education (Western Australia Chapter). With that work completed, I again thought about a book, but frankly, taking all that academic writing and turning it into something readable was beyond me at that time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Jim, too, was aspiring to write a book through which he might share his vast experience with others. Jim and I met up again in 2006 when we worked together on preparing a strategic plan and implementing change for the University Library at the University of Saskatchewan at the beginning of its second century of development. Through that work, we were again inspired by the significant value that employees bring to their organisations and how, for some, change is easy and welcome, whereas for others, it is a thing to be dreaded and what a difference effective library leadership can make on this experience. Through that working partnership, the idea of writing a book returned to us both.

Coincidently, it was around this time that I was contacted by Glyn Jones who asked if I was interested in writing a book, and as they say, the rest is history. Well almost. It would take us another couple of years to actually get it written. During that time, we had further experiences with people in organisations and how they manage change. We also had some dramas and challenges in our personal lives and our well-intentioned plans and timetable for writing the book were progressively delayed and adjusted, first by busy work schedules and then by the serious health challenges of a loved one in each of our families. These health challenges were unexpected and brought with them much stress and strain, but as we worked through them, we each gained further insight into how people cope with change, especially change that is outside of their immediate control.

We are delighted to say that both our loved family members are today healthy again and becoming reacquainted with their new normal lives. Following their recovery we returned to the book with renewed energy and a new timetable for completion, only to again be interrupted by events beyond our control. This time it was the world economic crisis!

But now the work is done and it is left to our readers (and we hope there will be many) to pass their judgment on the art of people management.