Creating Change

Preparing to Make a Change

If you're thinking about making a change, and you lack direct authority, it is especially important that you know how to prepare for the change. Preparing for change when you lack authority involves four principle actions: clarifying the goal, thinking ahead, taking initiative, and expressing enthusiasm.

Making Changes by Giving and Taking

Linda is a marketing assistant at SellUThis, a company that sells market research reports via direct mail. Linda has only been with the company six months, but she already hates her job. There are too many administrative duties and not enough opportunities to be creative. But all that may change. Yesterday, Linda heard a rumor that SellUThis' copywriter, Rick, plans to quit in six weeks to travel the world.

Increasing Your Level of Authority

Don is a fairly new senior editor in a department that abstracts and indexes legal publications. He is responsible for creating and clarifying editorial policy for the staff. It's an enviable position, yet Don's authority is not complete. He wants to create new guidelines that would significantly affect how the indexers apply index terms to articles, but these terms fall under the responsibility of Sue.