Jurgen Appelo is a writer, speaker, trainer, entrepreneur, illustrator, developer, manager, blogger, reader, dreamer, leader, freethinker, and… Dutch guy. Since 2008 Jurgen writes a popular blog at www.noop.nl, that covers topics including Agile management, software engineering, business improvement, personal development, and complexity theory. He is the author of the book Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders, which describes the role of the manager in Agile organizations. And he wrote the little book How to Change the World, which describes his new supermodel for change management. He is also a speaker who is regularly invited to talk at business seminars and conferences around the world. Jurgen is co-founder of the Agile Lean Europe network (for Agile & Lean thinkers and practitioners in Europe) and the Stoos Network (focusing on change agents for organizational transformation). After studying Software Engineering at the Delft University of Technology, and earning his Master’s degree in 1994, Jurgen Appelo has busied himself starting up and leading a variety of Dutch businesses, always in the position of team leader, manager, or executive. Jurgen has experience in leading a horde of 100 software developers, development managers, project managers, business consultants, quality managers, service managers, and kangaroos, some of which he hired accidentally. Nowadays he works full-time developing innovative courseware, books, and other types of original content. But sometimes Jurgen puts it all aside to do some programming himself, or to spend time on his ever-growing collection of science fiction and fantasy literature, which he stacks in a self-designed book case. It is 4 meters high. Jurgen lives in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) -- and in Brussels (Belgium) -- with his partner Raoul. He has two kids, and an imaginary hamster called George.

How do I deal with my crappy organization? I like my work but I don’t like what our management is doing. How do I deal with it? Well, that’s easy. You have three options: 1. Ignore it. Changing organizations is hard work. If you don’t have the stamina to learn how to be a good change agent, then stop complaining about what’s bad. Accept that the organization is what it is, and enjoy the good parts of your work. 2. Quit your job. The only reason there are bad organizations is that people don’t quit their jobs. Do the world a favor and find a better place to work. Help bad organizations out of their misery by not working for them. 3. Learn about change management. Most people are terrible at influencing other people and changing organizations. But, if you’re serious about it, you can learn how to be a more effective change agent. It’s take it, leave it, or change it... This book is for those who choose option 3.