John P. Kotter: Quotes about change

John P. Kotter is author of The heart of Change. Explore interesting quotes on change.

John P. Kotter: 52 quotes0 likes

“Over the past decade, I have watched more than 100 companies try to remake themselves into significantly better competitors. They have included large organizations (Ford) and small ones (Landmark Communications), companies based in the United States (General Motors) and elsewhere (British Airways), corporations that were on their knees (Eastern Airlines), and companies that were earning good money ((Bristol-Myers Squibb). Their efforts have gone under many banners: total quality management, reengineering, right-sizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnarounds. But, in almost every case, the basic goal has been the same: to make fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with a new, more challenging market environment.”

John P. Kotter, "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail." in: Harvard Business Review. March-April 1995. p. 59.

“Valued achievements connect to people at a deeper level—and a deeper level can change behavior that is generally very difficult to change.”

Step 6, p. 130
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“In a change effort, culture comes last, not first.”

Step 8, p. 175
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“Whenever smart and well-intentioned people avoid confronting obstacles, they disempower employees and undermine change.”

Source: Leading Change, 1996, p. 10

“The most general lesson to be learned from the more successful cases is that the change process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces satisfactory results.”

John P. Kotter, "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail." in: Harvard Business Review. March-April 1995. p. 59

“A culture truly changes only when a new way of operating has been shown to succeed over some minimum period of time.”

Step 8, p. 176
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“Without conviction that you can make change happen, you will not act, even if you see the vision. Your feelings will hold you back.”

Step 5, p. 115
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“Nothing undermines change more than behavior by important individuals that is inconsistent with the verbal communication.”

Source: Leading Change, 1996, p. 10

“We see, we feel, we change.”

Conclusion to the 2002 edition, p. 179
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“The rate of change in the business world is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up over the next few decades. Enterprises everywhere will be presented with even more terrible hazards and wonderful opportunities, driven by the globalization of the economy along with related technological and social trends”

Source: The Heart of Change, (2002), p. 130 (in 21013 edition)

“The heart of change is in the emotions.”

Introduction to the 2002 edition, p. 2
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem solving. Leadership is a set of processes that creates organizations in the first place or adapts them to significantly changing circumstances. Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles.”

Source: Leading Change, 1996, p. 25; cited in: avid M. Boje, Bernard Burnes, John Hassard (2012), The Routledge Companion to Organizational Change, p. 140

“We keep a change in place by helping to create a new, supportive, and sufficiently strong organizational culture.”

Step 8, p. 161
The Heart of Change, (2002)

“Changing behavior is less a matter of giving people analysis to influence their thoughts than helping them to see a truth to influence their feelings.”

Introduction to the 2002 edition, p. 2
The Heart of Change, (2002)