John P. Kotter Quotes

In the final analysis, change sticks when it becomes the way we do things around here.

Never underestimate the magnitude of the power of the forces that reinforce the status quo.

Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of others are never captured.

Neurologists say that our brains are programmed much more for stories than for abstract ideas. Tales with a little drama are remembered far longer than any slide crammed with analytics.

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

Great leaders motivate large groups of individuals to improve the human condition.

The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades.

Good communication does not mean that you have to speak in perfectly formed sentences and paragraphs. It isn't about slickness. Simple and clear go a long way.

The world has 6 billion people and counting. We need to help 500 million people become better leaders so that billions can benefit.

Outsiders have the intuitive ability to continually view problems in fresh ways and to identify ineffective practices and traditions.

One of the most common ways to overcome resistance to change is to educate people about it beforehand. Communication of ideas helps people see the need for and the logic of a change. The education process can involve one-on-one discussions, presentations to groups, or memos and reports.

We worry about appearing awkward in a presentation. But up to a point, most people seem to feel more comfortable with less-than-perfect speaking abilities. It makes the speaker more human - and more vulnerable, meaning he is less likely to attack our decisions or beliefs.

In an ever changing world, you never learn it all, even if you keep growing into your 90s.

Tradition is a very powerful force.

Managers are trained to make incremental, programmatic improvements. They aren't trained to lead large-scale change.

Anyone in a large organization who thinks major change is impossible should probably get out.

Overcoming complacency is crucial at the start of any change process, and it often requires a little bit of surprise, something that grabs attention at more than an intellectual level. You need to surprise people with something that disturbs their view that everything is perfect.

Analytical tools have their limitations in a turbulent world. These tools work best when parameters are known, assumptions are minimal, and the future is not fuzzy.

The heart of change is in the emotions.

Good communication is not just data transfer. You need to show people something that addresses their anxieties, that accepts their anger, that is credible in a very gut-level sense, and that evokes faith in the vision.

We are always creating new tools and techniques to help people, but the fundamental framework is remarkably resilient, which means it must have something to do with the nature of organizations or human nature.

Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome.

Complacency is almost always the product of success or perceived success

Leadership is about coping with change

A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever-present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent.

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

What's really driving the boom in coaching, is this: as we move from 30 miles an hour to 70 to 120 to 180 ... as we go from driving straight down the road to making right turns and left turns to abandoning cars and getting motorcycles ... the whole game changes, and a lot of people are trying to keep up, learn how not to fall.

The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people.

Producing major change in an organization is not just about signing up one charismatic leader. You need a group - a team - to be able to drive the change. One person, even a terrific charismatic leader, is never strong enough to make all this happen.

One of the most powerful forms of information is feedback on our own actions.

If the culture you have is radically different from an 'experiment and take-risk' culture, then you have a big change you going to have to make - and no little gimmicks are going to do it for you.

Great communicators have an appreciation for positioning. They understand the people they're trying to reach and what they can and can't hear. They send their message in through an open door rather than trying to push it through a wall.

Kotter International is about leading large-scale change, not just managing it.

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

We learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.

Motivation is not a thinking word; it's a feeling word.

Most people don't lead their own lives - they accept their lives

Leadership is about setting a direction. It's about creating a vision, empowering and inspiring people to want to achieve the vision, and enabling them to do so with energy and speed through an effective strategy. In its most basic sense, leadership is about mobilizing a group of people to jump into a better future.

Leadership is different from management, but not for the reasons most people think.

This is true even in organizations that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement, even among people who think of themselves as smart in an MBA sense. In highly successful change efforts, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought.

Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.

In terms of getting people to experiment more and take more risk, there are at least three things that immediately come to my mind. Number one, of course, is role-modeling it yourself. Number two is, when people take intelligent, smart risks and yet it doesn't work out, not shooting them. And number three, being honest with yourself.

No vision issue today is bigger than the question of efficiency versus some combination of innovation and customer service.

Great vision communication usually means heartfelt messages are coming from real human beings.

The vast majority of large scale change efforts fail. Which means that the probability that you have actually experienced a failure, and your people know that and are pessimistic, therefore, about trying something again, is very high.

Many years ago, I think I got my first insight on how an incredibly diverse team can work together and do astonishing things, and not just misunderstand each other and fight.