Ask any group of organizational leaders from any business sector what keeps them awake at night and arguably ‘managing the pace of change’ will appear at the top of the list. The concern does not focus on one or two strategic changes. Rather the concern is whether every program, unit, department, and functional area, as well as the organization as a whole can continue to operate at the cutting edge relative to its competitors.

There was a time when a few organizational elites could gather once every several years to identify needed changes and formulate a strategic plan to introduce innovation into their organization (Mintzberg, 2000). That day has passed. Now organizations face the need for continuous improvement in every organizational unit and function even as they face frequent disruptive radical changes affecting the organization as a whole. The causes are many. We will mention but a few.