ABSTRACT
Ruth, now an independent business advisor, university lecturer and management researcher, came to managing change in organisations almost by accident. Through a family connection she became involved in a business that was facing the challenges of computerisation and globalisation, and took on the leadership of the company. Without any formal training in change management, Ruth learned by observation and having to interact with the reactions to change as they emerged. Ruth's description of being let in to a more open and personal level of conversation with her clients, points to the emergence of new ways of thinking where the relationship moves towards the 'edge of chaos', through the strengthening of the connection between them. Reflecting on her experience of change as a manager, business advisor and latterly an academic has prompted Ruth to challenge the conventional view of a top-down, planned and managed approach to change, and move to that of a process arising from personal, self-challenging, interactive conversation.
