Viral change ready to inject sustainable solutions into organizations worldwide

London, UK, December 27th, 2006 – Viral Change, the new book by Dr Leandro Herrero, will show professionals at all levels in any organization the alternative to slow, painful and unsuccessful management of change in organizations. It is common knowledge that most conventional ‘change management’ programmes, including cultural change, fail. One of the reasons is that the focus is usually on the change of processes and systems, coupled with the assumption that these will automatically lead to a change in people’s behaviours. However, people often continue ‘to do things like before’, and so the change has failed. Another reason is that management of change is usually conceived as a massive exercise where a big communication programme and a big set of actions are an assumed prerequisite to produce big change.

“The assumption that behavioural change will happen as a consequence of changes in processes and systems is naïve and clashes with many things we know in behavioural sciences,” Leandro Herrero says. “Behavioural change must be ‘moved up’ and happen first in order to support any change in processes and systems. And change is not linear. A small set of triggers (behaviours) has the capacity to create big and high impact sustainable change, including true cultural change. When you put together behavioural sciences and network sciences, the traditional, massive communication programme cascading down from the top of the organization and involving all management levels just doesn’t make any sense at all.”

‘Viral Change’ provides a completely different change framework that is based on the modern convergence of disciplines such as network and behavioural sciences. Unlike conventional methods of change management, viral change is faster, far more effective, potentially more inclusive and certainly long lasting. In ‘Viral Change’, the author shows how a combination of the right language and ‘frame’, a small set of non-negotiable behaviours (all spread by a small number of internal activists) and the production of ‘tipping points’, creates lasting cultural change in organizations. ‘Viral Change’ shows how change in organization has more to do with creating ‘purpose-driven infections’ of new ideas or new ways of doing than with a traditional communication-based stepwise approach.

“We feel that ‘Viral Change’ brings a fresh and unique angle to the world of change management,” Ellen Muyzers, editor for meetingminds, says. “The approach described brings the language and methods of a socio-behavioural approach (developed by the author) together in a comprehensible, practical and actionable framework called ‘Viral Change’. We believe that this book will become the new standard in change management and the new ‘business bible’ for any reader interested in how organizations are evolving today and how understanding internal social networks is changing the way we should lead and manage.”

Leandro Herrero was a practicing psychiatrist for many years before holding senior leadership positions in top league business organizations. He currently leads The Chalfont Project Ltd, an international group of organizational consultants. Leandro Herrero has personally led multiple organizational and cultural changes by applying the Viral Change way, the socio-behavioural approach described in this book. His previous books include The Leader with Seven Faces, also published by meetingminds.

‘Viral Change’ (ISBN 978-1-905776-01-6, 392p, £19.95/$29.95) is available at www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.meetingminds.com and many other online bookshops and outlets.