An enormous consulting industry has sprung up promising to help organizations overhaul themselves to meet today's competitive pressures. Yet far too often, such change efforts fail. The solution, according to best-selling management author William Bridges, lies in identifying, understanding, and working with what he calls organizational character. Just as people have personalities, organizations - as well as their departments and teams - have characters.

An organization's character shapes how decisions are made and new ideas received, how employees are treated and change is accepted or rejected. Using examples from McDonald's, Hewlett-Packard, GE, and other companies, Bridges identifies 16 organizational character types using the framework of MBTI (Myers Briggs) personality types and shows how these influence an organization's growth and development. With a foreword by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and a new preface by the author, this updated edition of the time-tested classic includes the Organizational Character Index, Bridges' popular tool for assessing the character of your own organization or team.