Leading Change

In this summary you will learn

• Why leaders, not managers, should implement initiatives for transformational change
• What eight mistakes people make when trying to change their companies
• How to manage the eight stages of the change process
• What traits will shape the leaders and organizations of the future

getAbstract rating

Why you should read Leading Change

The picture on the cover of John P. Kotter’s book tells it all: a group of penguins are shuffling their feet nervously on an icy precipice, while one brave bird leaps for the water below. The question is, which penguin are you? In too many organizations, executives shy away from the precipice, while someone lower down in the pecking order jumps in to test the landing conditions. Kotter says managers and leaders are quite different. A manager, he explains, is trained to think in a linear, one-two-three, risk-limiting way. Transformational change, however, can only be attained when true leaders push forward on several fronts at once - eight of them to be exact. Every successful change initiative begins with a coalition of leaders who create a sense of urgency. Kotter’s book stems from a 1995 Harvard Business Review article titled, "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail." It will probably sound hauntingly familiar to managers who have watched change initiatives begin in the front courtyard with a marching band and end a few months later, ushered out the back door like a diner who can’t pay the tab. If you want to know why your last change initiative fizzled, getAbstract.com says read this book. Better yet, study it to ensure that your next leap of faith is a flying success.

About the Author

A graduate of MIT and Harvard, John P. Kotter joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1972 and became a full-tenured professor in 1980 at age 33. He is a frequent speaker on management and the author of six best-selling books on business, including A Force for Change, Corporate Culture and Performance and The New Rules.