Change: the name of the game

The purpose of this article is to argue that the game of management involves dealing fundamentally with the element of change and that the key to winning the game is to keep it as simple as possible. The author divides change into four basic categories: 1) Planned Past Change, where everything went as expected; 2) Unplanned Past Change, where something happened that was not anticipated; 3) Planned Future Change, meaning indications show that some action should be taken; and 4) Unplanned Future Change, where the possibility of the unplanned exists. He feels that managing tools exist to deal specifically with the last three types of change, and they are useful only to the extent that they simplify the tasks of management. The author says, "So much of what we call management research consists in making it difficult for managers to manage. Keep it simple, keep the change in perspective."