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About John P. Kotter
Dr. Kotter's MIT and Harvard education laid the foundation for his life-long passion for educating, motivating, and helping people. He became a member of the Harvard Business School faculty in 1972. By 1980, at the age of 33, Kotter was given tenure and a full Professorship - at the time, the youngest person ever to have received that award at the Business School. Over the past 40 years, his articles in The Harvard Business Review have been some of the most popular reprints for the publication. His HBR article "Accelerate!" won the 2012 McKinsey Award for the world's most practical and groundbreaking thinking in the business/management arena.
Kotter has authored 20 books to date - twelve of them bestsellers. His books have reached millions and have been printed in over 150 foreign language editions. Arguably his most popular book, Our Iceberg Is Melting, was released in 2006. This New York Times bestseller helped launch to a large audience the 8-step process for leading change. In 2014, Kotter published his book Accelerate, an evolution of his previous research on leading change. Accelerate highlights the iterative nature of the 8-step process, the importance of aligning people around a Big Opportunity, and how to create an organization that is both efficient and reliable, and fast and agile enough to respond to today's challenges. Dr. Kotter is the Founder, Chairman and Head of Research at Kotter International, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations apply the concepts in his books in a practical and accessible way - helping them achieve unimaginable results, faster than they believe possible. Other widely read books include A Sense of Urgency, The Heart of Change and Leading Change, which Time magazine selected in 2011 as one of the 25 most influential business management books ever written.
Kotter's 21st book, Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results Despite Uncertain and Volatile Times brings together more than 40 years of research and more than a decade of Kotter International's practical application of this research with organizations around the globe. Change sheds new light on how to build organizations - from businesses to governments - that are able to change and adapt rapidly.
Kotter's research and pursuits in education, business and writing have earned the respect of his peers, helped transform organizations around the world, touched countless lives, and still inspires others to adopt his methods and spread the word. He continues to work tirelessly to achieve the goal of "millions leading, billions benefiting."
Professor Kotter is a proud father of two and resides in Sarasota, FL with his wife, Nancy Dearman.
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It’s funny how grief hits you. Grief over change – the sort of change you didn’t choose.
Four months after my mom’s passing, I wrote a letter to close the bank account she had for over 40 years in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan. As I typed away with my request, “Attention: Bank Manager,” I was swept with memories and overcome with emotion. I remembered our weekly ritual – the countless trips I made for her to her local branch that lasted well pas2 years ago Read more -
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A recent article in the Wall Street Journal draws attention to a 2018 survey by the American Psychological Association that had some revealing statistics about the percentage of employees who reported feeling anxious at work – 54% for Gen Z, double the percentage of Baby Boomers at 27%. There are multiple reasons for this increased anxiety, from social media and the comparisons it elicits, to growing up in a highly polarized geopolitical2 years ago Read more -
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By Nick Petschek + Marla Kurz | Principals at Kotter
Disclaimer: This post is about Game of Thrones, and relies on examples mainly from the first and last season. If you are not one of the 30 million people who watch it, we encourage you to still read on and to think about the organizational examples we provide and how they resonate with your professional experiences. Hopefully, you’ve never had to deal wi2 years ago Read more -
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By Gaurav Gupta | Affiliate at Kotter
The depth and breadth of the cultural problems at Uber are now common knowledge for most anyone following the business press. With all the subsequent reporting and insight shared into what was happening at the company, it is not hard to see that this was a crisis that had been brewing for some time. Unlike failed product launches or high operational costs, low morale and poor engagement can go unno2 years ago Read more -
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By Cameron Welter | Principal at Kotter
To my mother’s chagrin, I spent the summer and fall of 2016 flying in and out of eastern Europe. I found myself on one of the first flights into Istanbul after the coup and then in Kiev as war raged a few hundred miles south in the Crimean peninsula.
What initially took me to that part of the world was a project with a manufacturing company looking to adapt to their rapidly changing market – smaller companies w2 years ago Read more -
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Collaborative work is the new normal. The amount of time we spend teaming has increased 50% and takes up approximately 80% of our time on the job according to a recent Microsoft study. So, it’s important that we get it right. In earlier posts, we’ve introduced a model for high-performing teams that focuses on head and heart, and explored the importance of trust in driving team performance. This one sheds light on a related but distinct element of the model: social c2 years ago Read more -
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The economy is facing the end of a prolonged boom, and leaders across industries are dusting off their cost-cutting playbooks to navigate present and predicted market volatility. As a result, we’ve seen an emergence of widespread workforce layoffs—with some of the deepest cuts made by industry giants like G.M. and Wells Fargo.
Often times, however, these large-scale layoffs only provide a short-term fix for a long-term problem and, if done unnecessarily, can2 years ago Read more -
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In 2019 it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social network users around the globe. Social media is in every space of our lives: as consumers, citizens, students… What about corporate leadership?
A few top executives are already on board. Chief Executive reports that about 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are personally engaged in social media – neither outsourcing to ghostwriters nor ignoring the phenomenon. Why do they find the2 years ago Read more -
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The year 2020 – a year that marks the destination of so many strategies, goals and “We’ll have done this by then,” wildest dreams – had felt a rather safe distance away. Until now. Having turned the page to 2019, the year 2020 is…near. Very near. And, apart from our grand plans that we aimed to see come true by 2020, the number itself has some psychological stickiness, doesn’t it? If clear vision is 20/20, and hindsight of missteps and snafus is to2 years ago Read more -
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One of the world’s best business leaders from the last half-century died Thursday. Herb Kelleher’s passing was well noted in the business press where he was hailed mostly as the strategic genius who created the first really successful low-cost airline, opening up air travel to millions who had been priced out of the market; and/or as a wonderfully zany character who smoked, drank, laughed loudly and enjoyed parties, setting a standard for having fun which his empl2 years ago Read more -
Millions worldwide have read and embraced John Kotter’s ideas on change management and leadership.
From the ill-fated dot-com bubble to unprecedented M&A activity to scandal, greed, and ultimately, recessionwe’ve learned that widespread and difficult change is no longer the exception. It’s the rule. Now with a new preface, this refreshed edition of the global bestseller Leading Change is more relevant than ever.
John Kotter’s now-legendary eight-step process for managing change with positive results has become the foundation for leaders and organizations across the globe. By outlining the process every organization must go through to achieve its goals, and by identifying where and how even top performers derail during the change process, Kotter provides a practical resource for leaders and managers charged with making change initiatives work. Leading Change is widely recognized as his seminal work and is an important precursor to his newer ideas on acceleration published in Harvard Business Review.
Needed more today than at any time in the past, this bestselling business book serves as both visionary guide and practical toolkit on how to approach the difficult yet crucial work of leading change in any type of organization. Reading this highly personal book is like spending a day with the world’s foremost expert on business leadership. You’re sure to walk away inspiredand armed with the tools you need to inspire others.
Published by Harvard Business Review Press.
The revised and updated tenth anniversary edition of the classic, beloved business fable that has changed millions of lives in organizations around the world.
Our Iceberg Is Melting is a simple story about doing well under the stress and uncertainty of rapid change. Based on the award-winning work of Harvard Business School’s John Kotter, it can help you and your colleagues thrive during tough times.
On an iceberg near the coast of Antarctica, group of beautiful emperor penguins live as they have for many years. Then one curious bird discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home—and almost no one listens to him.
The characters in the story—Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, the Professor, and NoNo—are like people you probably recognize in your own organization, including yourself. Their tale is one of resistance to change and heroic action, seemingly intractable obstacles and clever tactics for dealing with those obstacles. The penguins offer an inspiring model as we all struggle to adapt to new circumstances.
Our Iceberg Is Melting is based on John Kotter's pioneering research into the eight steps that can produce needed change in any sort of group. After finishing the story, you'll have a powerful framework for influencing your own team, no matter how big or small.
This tenth anniversary edition preserves the text of the timeless story, together with new illustrations, a revised afterword, and a Q&A with the authors about the responses they've gotten over the past decade. Prepare to be both enlightened and delighted, whether you're already a fan of this classic fable or are discovering it for the first time.
It’s a familiar scene in organizations today: a new competitive threat or a big opportunity emerges. You quickly create a strategic initiative in response and appoint your best people to make change happen. And it does—but not fast enough. Or effectively enough. Real value gets lost and, ultimately, things drift back to the default status.
Why is this scenario so frequently repeated in industries and organizations across the world? In the groundbreaking new book Accelerate (XLR8), leadership and change management expert, and best-selling author, John Kotter provides a fascinating answer—and a powerful new framework for competing and winning in a world of constant turbulence and disruption.
Kotter explains how traditional organizational hierarchies evolved to meet the daily demands of running an enterprise. For most companies, the hierarchy is the singular operating system at the heart of the firm. But the reality is, this system simply is not built for an environment where change has become the norm. Kotter advocates a new system—a second, more agile, network-like structure that operates in concert with the hierarchy to create what he calls a “dual operating system”—one that allows companies to capitalize on rapid-fire strategic challenges and still make their numbers.
Accelerate (XLR8) vividly illustrates the five core principles underlying the new network system, the eight Accelerators that drive it, and how leaders must create urgency in others through role modeling. And perhaps most crucial, the book reveals how the best companies focus and align their people’s energy and urgency around what Kotter calls the big opportunity.
If you’re a pioneer, a leader who knows that bold change is necessary to survive and thrive in an ever-changing world, this book will help you accelerate into a better, more profitable future.
Why is change so hard? Because in order to make any transformation successful, you must change more than just the structure and operations of an organization—you need to change people’s behavior. And that is never easy.
The Heart of Change is your guide to helping people think and feel differently in order to meet your shared goals. According to bestselling author and renowned leadership expert John Kotter and coauthor Dan Cohen, this focus on connecting with people’s emotions is what will spark the behavior change and actions that lead to success. Now freshly designed, The Heart of Change is the engaging and essential complement to Kotter’s worldwide bestseller Leading Change.
Building off of Kotter’s revolutionary eight-step process, this book vividly illustrates how large-scale change can work. With real-life stories of people in organizations, the authors show how teams and individuals get motivated and activated to overcome obstacles to change—and produce spectacular results. Kotter and Cohen argue that change initiatives often fail because leaders rely too exclusively on data and analysis to get buy-in from their teams instead of creatively showing or doing something that appeals to their emotions and inspires them to spring into action. They call this the see-feel-change dynamic, and it is crucial for the success of any true organizational transformation.
Refreshingly clear and eminently practical, The Heart of Change is required reading for anyone facing the challenges inherent in leading change.
Now, in A Sense of Urgency, Kotter shines the spotlight on the crucial first step in his framework: creating a sense of urgency by getting people to actually see and feel the need for change.
Why focus on urgency? Without it, any change effort is doomed. Kotter reveals the insidious nature of complacency in all its forms and guises.
In this exciting new book, Kotter explains:
· How to go beyond "the business case" for change to overcome the fear and anger that can suppress urgency
· Ways to ensure that your actions and behaviors -- not just your words -- communicate the need for change
· How to keep fanning the flames of urgency even after your transformation effort has scored some early successes
Written in Kotter's signature no-nonsense style, this concise and authoritative guide helps you set the stage for leading a successful transformation in your company.
What’s the worst thing you can hear when you have a good idea at work?
“That’s not how we do it here!”
In their iconic bestseller Our Iceberg Is Melting, John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber used a simple fable about penguins to explain the process of leading people through major changes. Now, ten years later, they’re back with another must-read story that will help any team or organization cope with their biggest challenges and turn them into exciting opportunities.
Once upon a time a clan of meerkats lived in the Kalahari, a region in southern Africa. After years of steady growth, a drought has sharply reduced the clan’s resources, and deadly vulture attacks have increased. As things keep getting worse, the harmony of the clan is shattered. The executive team quarrels about possible solutions, and suggestions from frontline workers face a soul-crushing response: “That’s not how we do it here!”
So Nadia, a bright and adventurous meerkat, hits the road in search of new ideas to help her troubled clan. She discovers a much smaller group that operates very differently, with much more teamwork and agility. These meerkats have developed innovative solutions to find food and evade the vultures. But not everything in this small clan is as perfect as it seems at first.
Can Nadia figure out how to combine the best of both worlds—a large, disciplined, well-managed clan and a small, informal, inspiring clan—before it’s too late?
This book distills Kotter’s decades of experience and award-winning research to reveal why organizations rise and fall, and how they can rise again in the face of adversity.
It doesn't have to be this way, maintain John Kotter and Lorne Whitehead. In Buy-In, they reveal how to win the support your idea needs to deliver valuable results. The key? Understand the generic attack strategies that naysayers and obfuscators deploy time and time again. Then engage these adversaries with tactics tailored to each strategy. By "inviting in the lions" to critique your idea--and being prepared for them--you'll capture busy people's attention, help them grasp your proposal's value, and secure their commitment to implementing the solution.
The book presents a fresh and amusing fictional narrative showing attack strategies in action. It then provides several specific counterstrategies for each basic category the authors have defined--including:
· Death-by-delay: Your enemies push discussion of your idea so far into the future it's forgotten.
· Confusion: They present so much data that confidence in your proposal dies.
· Fearmongering: Critics catalyze irrational anxieties about your idea.
· Character assassination: They slam your reputation and credibility.
Smart, practical, and filled with useful advice, Buy-In equips you to anticipate and combat attacks--so your good idea makes it through to make a positive change.
Managing your boss: Isn't that merely manipulation? Corporate cozying up? Not according to John Gabarro and John Kotter. In this handy guidebook, the authors contend that you manage your boss for a very good reason: to do your best on the job—and thereby benefit not only yourself but also your supervisor and your entire company. Your boss depends on you for cooperation, reliability, and honesty. And you depend on him or her for links to the rest of the organization, for setting priorities, and for obtaining critical resources. By managing your boss—clarifying your own and your supervisor's strengths, weaknesses, goals, work styles, and needs—you cultivate a relationship based on mutual respect and understanding. The result? A healthy, productive bond that enables you both to excel. Gabarro and Kotter provide valuable guidelines for building this essential relationship—including strategies for determining how your boss prefers to process information and make decisions, tips for communicating mutual expectations, and tactics for negotiating priorities. Thought provoking and practical, Managing Your Boss enables you to lay the groundwork for one of the most crucial working relationships you'll have in your career.
Leading Change—now considered the change bible for leaders and managers worldwide—reveals why change is so difficult and lays out an actionable, eight-step process for implementing successful transformations. Cited by business leaders and influential organizations worldwide as the book to read when starting any type of change initiative, Accelerate (XLR8) vividly illustrates the five core principles underlying a new dual operating system, the eight accelerators that drive it, and how leaders must create a sense of urgency through role modeling. Perhaps most crucial, the book reveals how the best companies focus and align their people’s energy around what Kotter calls the big opportunity.
If you’re a pioneer, a leader who knows that bold change is necessary to survive and thrive in an ever-changing world, these two books will set you on a path to accelerate into a better, more profitable future.
Regarded by many as the authority on leadership and change, John P. Kotter is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning business and management thought leader, business entrepreneur, inspirational speaker, and Harvard Business School professor. His ideas, books, speeches, and the company he founded in 2008, Kotter International, have helped mobilize people around the world to better lead organizations, and their own lives, in an era of increasingly rapid change. Kotter has authored nineteen books to date—twelve of them bestsellers. His books have reached millions and have been printed in over 150 foreign language editions.
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