FOREWORD BY DR. JOANNE C. PRESTON

PhD, RODC – Registered Organizational Development Consultant

 

     Honestly, I have not read either a business book or a consulting book that has been this refreshing for a long time. Being an international consultant and former Doctoral Dean of Management at Colorado Technological University requires a great deal of reading to stay current on large-scale organizational change and management development.

     When I received Change for the Right Reason from a colleague, my first reaction was to cringe. Oh no! This is not another dry business book by an author who believes he understands how to create change. 

     Boy, how wrong I was. After a short read, I found the author has a way with words, as well as a vast knowledge in the fields of business and change. Instead of making this into a textbook that drones on from one dry subject to the next, Wayne has turned the book into a refreshing fictional story that reveals the secrets of transforming a company through the use of new organizational architecture and business theory.  

     The story’s novel begins with a Vietnamese immigrant, Thanh Nguyen, whose electrical engineering background has enabled him to build a flourishing mid-size high-tech business in Southern California. Well, that is until he begins having trouble with growth and a severe material shortage problem. Adding to his difficulty, the company is seeing little or no productivity gain that mirrors the critical epidemic that we have in our industry today and challenges the company to make changes or die. And then to make matters worse, Thanh has a personal tragedy that takes him out of the picture.

     Faced with this dilemma, the board of directors hires the Jake Jensen Group that believes in making change for the right reason. The story of transformation now unfolds with Dakota Wells, Jake Jensen’s partner, and interim acting CEO giving a presentation to Thanh’s company employees. The idea is to explain the consulting firm’s new approach to change, using system thinking in a newly designed organizational architecture, and to clarify how the employees and the company will both benefit. 

     During the meeting, two significant players are introduced who will be delivering the change process throughout the story in the company’s training room, along with delightfully funny dialogue to lighten up the reading. Then we have the humorous vignettes of the characters personal lives weaving throughout the book to lessen the load of knowledge one is trying to digest.   

     From this point on after the employee meeting, the story continues to be fast-paced, as it expands and merges four disciplines of theory based on system thinking, Wayne’s throughput theory, horizontal organizations, and market-perceived value (MPV) into a new organizational architecture. Along with a transfer of knowledge, it will have you smiling and nodding your head affirmatively, for it makes an enormously entertaining read. 

     What is particularly exciting is that Wayne has provided thoughtful questions at the end of each scene to allow readers to reflect on the story and see how it applies to their own business situation or belief system. Also, the dialog in the novel is written in a way that explains these new concepts of business theory so that the reader can easily apply this new way of thinking about business and change.

     As a business leader, consultant, educator, or student, you will find the story captivating and filled with knowledge that allows you to see business systems in a new light that solve the lack of productivity contagion that is prevalent in the today’s business world. It’s also a book capable of having a significant influence on our society and economy. So, I encourage you to turn the page and discover the secrets of making Change for the Right Reason!

 

Joanne C. Preston, PhD, RODC 

Partner, Global Exchange Group 

 

 

 

READER'S FAVORITE BOOK REVIEW

Congratulations on your 5-star review 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHANGE FOR THE RIGHT REASON

 

READER'S FAVORITE REVIEW

 

     Change for the Right Reason: A Bold New Beginning – A Business Novel by Wayne Coker offers one of the most powerful lessons I have had to learn in business and I must say that it came as a delightful surprise to me. First off, when I picked up this book, I didn’t really think it would be in the form of a story, but it isn’t just any kind of story. It’s a quintessential tale that unveils the tips and strategies to implement the changes that will help an organization or business grow while getting employees actively involved and committed to the process. 
     The reader follows the story of an entrepreneur and the challenges he faces, both in business and in life, that bring his business to the brink of extinction. It is at this point that his company hires the Jake Jensen group. Follow the presentation as the company that specializes in change offers an entirely new approach to change. Can this consulting firm help the dying company and transform it into its new strategy for change? It’s for the reader to find out. 

     Wayne Coker is a great writer and a serious educator, gifted with the rare ability to both educate and entertain readers. This is a well-crafted story, with a powerful conflict, well-developed characters, and a theme that has been discussed by many professionals: change. 

     Readers will love to follow these characters as they navigate a world of risk and challenges and how they build momentum and set on a path that catapults them to a satisfying finish. Change for the Right Reason: A Bold New Beginning – A Business Novel is laden with lessons in business and change, a book from a master in the field, crafted to delight readers and inform them. This book has a lot to offer to both independent entrepreneurs and leaders working with big teams. 

 

ADVANCE PRAISE 

by University Students and Graduates at the

 Time of their Review

 

     Barrett Seller: As a current business student working towards my MBA, with a background in Political Science and Psychology, I have historically found that most business text to be dry and bland, missing a certain human touch as it were. What Mr. Coker has been able to do is take the important lessons that he is trying to impart and place them within a human context. This approach is unlike anything I had seen before in a business text and made it a much more approachable read. 

     In addition to his ground, breaking business storytelling approach, Mr. Coker has put to pen solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our day by taking a paradigm-shifting approach to the way western thinkers have attempted to solve world problems in the past. By shifting our mindset from a reductionist standpoint to a systemic approach, we begin to see the world as a much more entwined place. Political and Business Leaders of today and tomorrow would be remiss to leave Mr. Coker’s book on the shelf. The thinking is dynamic, and the presentation is game-changing—well done, Sir!

 

     Kyle Tippett: As a graduate of the Malcolm Baldridge award-winning Monfort College of Business at The University of Northern Colorado, I thought this book could have played a major role in the curriculum I was taught. 

     Through my studies, I read many business professional books that were designed to teach me the theories/concepts of the past. I read and interpreted many books but like many books I read on theories of the past I read the book, learned the information and un-learned it just as quickly. 

     I feel the reason for this quick turn-around on the knowledge I learned was the lack of connection to the information. I read the books, I understood the theories being taught, but I wouldn't necessarily apply the theory to any knowledge that I could connect with on a long-term basis. 

     Change for the Right Reasons allowed me and more importantly challenged me to understand the theories/concepts, but through the story-like approach, the author uses I connected the theory to real-life situations. These theories are presented and taught through real situations and use characters that the students would more than likely be able to connect with further than just reading dry, factual data. That is a facet I could have utilized to connect with the theories on a more long-term basis, had I been introduced to this book earlier in my education. I feel that Change for the Right Reasons would have allowed me to absorb and understand the information and quickly turn it into knowledge instead of learning only the theory, then quickly un-learning it as so many students do these days.  

 

     Clay Roscoe Claus: I’m nearly finished with my BS in Electrical Engineering, minor in Business Administration, and finishing with a certificate in entrepreneurship from the Keller Graduate School of Management. I’m proud to be part of this review process allowing me to inform others about this captivating book. 

     Wayne’s engaging cast of characters takes you on a journey of business transformation and organizational architecture. The process of converting the lumbering corporate hierarchy of today to an agile business of the future that is only possible by implementing a new business system. 

In this novel, the Jake Jensen, consulting group guides Advance Tek Corporation (ATC) through the business transformation process. Wayne does an exceptional job imbuing character traits that enrich you with detail that allows you, the reader, to see business transformation through the eyes of each fascinating actor in this story

     This didactic novel was not only entertaining; this business book is informative. Wayne’s humorous approach to writing makes the story a fun and lighthearted read. Each vignette allows for a mental reprieve after each business topic. This sometimes makes dry and esoteric business concepts easily digestible using this concept of a novel makes for a real page-turner.  

Wayne inspires the reader to become an agent of change. The business theory is a topic on which Wayne has undeniable experience due to his numerous years of research and immersion in the industry as a high-tech manufacturing professional, giving him perspective on the turbulent nature of change in business. “If you believe you have an opportunity for change, take it, and have no regrets,” Wayne said. I would encourage you to read this book so you, too, become an agent of change. 

 

     Sridhar Prabhu: I completed my Bachelors in Electronics and Telecommunications from University of Mumbai, India, a Masters in Interdisciplinary Telecommunications from the University of Colorado, and my Entrepreneurship Certificate at CU. 

     The author’s novel has succeeded in giving us a recipe that not only will help new ventures but also companies today struggling to find a foothold in the wavering economy. Wayne takes the problem companies, and the world economy as a whole is facing today and explains it in the simplest possible way. He then takes the example of a company in turmoil and shows with his concepts and ideas how, change for the right reason, can turn around the situation. The vignettes in the book almost take you to the world of the characters involved in this transformation. This book although having a heavy business and financial concepts keeps the reader entertained through the characters everybody could relate to – at times, I would laugh out loud at the entertaining dialog.

 

INTRODUCTION

 The Cast of Characters

 

CONSULTING GROUP PARTNERS

   JAKE JENSEN is the founder and partner of a transformation consulting and acquisition business - the Jake Jensen Group.  

     DAKOTA WELLS, Jake Jensen’s partner was previously an executive working for Marty Westlake’s acquisition group and a former navy commander. 

 

CONSULTING GROUP CREW

     JOHNNY ZAPATA has a post-secondary professorship at Pepperdine University and a Professor of Organizational Theory and Marketing. He also consults for the Jake Jensen Group: system processes and organizational architecture. 

     JACKIE O’, consult with the Jake Jensen Group covering finance and information distribution and has a doctorate in finance and a post-secondary professorship at Pepperdine University. 

     DENNY CHANG works as a coordinator, with degrees in process engineering, computer science, and finance. He reports directly to Jackie O’ and Johnny Zapata. 

 

ADVANCE TEK CORPORATION—ATC OFFICERS

   THANH NGUYEN: President of ATC 

     NINA NGUYEN: Vice President of Finance and Information Distribution. She is also the wife of Thanh Nguyen and plays a major role in the transformation process.

     COLONEL MARTY WESTLAKE is retired from his acquisition firm and now helping out as temporary Chairman of the board of ATC—a former Green Beret officer who did four tours during the Vietnam War.

     DAVID GLOSS, Vice President of Market Recognition 

     GARY EASTWOOD, Vice President of Product & Process Engineering

     ED BLACKBURN, Vice President of Order Fulfillment—Operations.

     BELINDA SHAKEELA, Vice President of Quality Assurance 

     MELINDA LOCKHART, Director of Human Resources 

 

THE REST OF THE CAST

     TONI NAKNI is a Six-foot-five, full-blooded, Creek Indian, retired naval intelligence officer, pilot, and longtime friend of Jake Jensen. He speaks volumes with only a few words, a twitch of the mouth, or a minuscule nod of the head.

     SHERI is Johnny Zapata’s girlfriend and full of surprises.

     BROOKS is Jackie’s best friend. The local surfers call her, Woodie.

     ANTONIO is Jake’s crew member aboard the ketch, Sophi.

     LI’L MISS KITTY is Jake’s twenty-year-old cat.