“I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’m sure that I could repeat them exactly.”
—Peter Cook , from “ the Frog and Peach ” routine
When National Endowment for the Arts Grand Master and world- renowned jazz saxophonist James Moody was on tour a couple of years ago, every day he would get on the band’s bus and studymusic as they rode to the next gig. He was eighty-two at the time. One of the younger musicians was taken by this and said, “This must be fun for you, James.” Moody looked at him and said, “What’s fun got to do with it? It’s what you’ve got to do.”
James Moody got it right. The people who learn to do anything well never achieve mastery in their own minds. They keep working on it. The leaders I know who lead and manage change well would nod in agreement with Moody’s comments.
As I started to work on this new edition of the book, I interviewed a number of people who worked inside organizations. I asked them to tellabout a time when they led a change successfully—but getting the support
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