Beyond No: Harnessing the Power of Resistance for Positive Organizational Growth

Start viewing resistance as something beneficial instead of an inconvenience that must be eliminated

Beyond No: Harnessing the Power of Resistance for Organizational Growth is a thought-provoking exploration of the concept of resistance--something that is bound to arise within every organization in response to new projects, policies, or initiatives. Rather than seeing resistance as an inconvenience that needs to be eliminated, this book invites readers to take a new approach to different types of resistance, both hidden and obvious, and instead view resistance as a guiding light to discover objective differences, dissatisfaction, criticism of procedures, or different assessments or values.

This book contains a wealth of real stories from a wide variety of business leaders, detailing situations where resistance was encountered, solutions that were implemented, and their outcomes. Readers will also learn about:

• Shortcuts that lead to dead ends when managing resistance, including thinking "man does not want to change" and "one third is always against it anyways"
• Explanatory models behind resistance, including emotional events, attempts at domination, normative control, and expression of a damaged relationship
• Principles to productively manage resistance, including commitment, dignity, right to dissent, learning, and mindfulness

Beyond No earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of all business leaders, executives, and managers seeking to achieve excellence in leadership through a thoughtful approach to resistance instead of relying on ineffective command-and-control tactics.

ERIK NAGEL, PhD, is a -professor and Vice Director of the Lucerne School of Business and Co--Institute Director of the Institute for Management and Regional Economics IBR. He researches and teaches leadership, change management, resistance, cultural change, and organizational consulting.