Jeffrey Ford and the Seemingly Invisible Made Obvious: Pushing Change Scholars and Practitioners to Rethink Taken-for-Granted Truths

Ford, J. D.In an academic career spanning over 40 years, Jeffrey Ford has repeatedly questioned taken-for-granted truths or recognized something so obvious it begs further thought and study. Seminal contributions on change management from the second period of his career (starting in 1989) are the focus of this chapter. Management, networks, and conversations are the commonalities of his scholarship, and each is evident in a body of work that enhances our understanding of intentional change management through his scholarly contributions – with his wife, Laurie Ford – on the logics of change, the role of conversations in producing intentional change, and the resistance to change. For managers and leaders, Ford’s work continues to focus our attention as scholars and practitioners on the ongoing day-to-day efforts to bring about organizational change.