The Solutions Focus – Making Coaching and Change Simple: Personnel Today book review

Authors: Paul Z Jackson and Mark McKergow
Price: £16.99
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey International
Pages: 240
ISBN: 1904838065

This excellent and detailed book provides a simple and direct approach to influencing change within an organisation by focusing on solutions, rather than problems.

It highlights the importance of using simple language, and offers the reader a complete toolkit, an opportunity to visualise the tools in action, case studies and practical tips for managers, as well as guidance in the practical applications of these tools.

The solutions-focused approach allows the coach not to worry about the causes of a problem, but instead head directly towards the solution, showing readers how to move forward quickly and effectively without concentrating on why things happened.

The authors also offer readers practical techniques, including specific questions that direct the individual to immediate action and results. They show you how to focus on what is possible rather than what is not, and help you identify what is currently working in your organisation before suggesting successful ways of making useful changes.

Forcing you to look beyond tired and outdated ideas and modes of behaviour, this book replaces over-complicated theories and methods with a more dynamic, practical approach that moves all those who read it towards more positive outcomes. The basic principles help you identify what works and how to do more of it. It focuses on powerful, yet subtle, ways to make positive change, and illustrates how ideas are being applied in organisations worldwide, from government agencies to individual corporate teams.

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Useful? Four out of five stars
Well-written? Five out of five stars
Practical? Five out of five stars
Inspirational? Four out of five stars
Value for money? Four out of five stars
Overall? Four out of five stars

Reviewed by Brad Solomon, managing director, Corporate Conditioning