Joseph Kingston July 3, 2006

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Central Theme/ Problem of the article or book.
• Organizational change has increased dramatically over the past 20 years.
• Major change efforts are predicted to continue well into the future.
• However many common errors consistently impede the change process.

Major Points Made by the Author
•There are eight common errors to Organizational Change Efforts including: 1. Allowing for Too Much Complacency – This occurs as organizations move ahead without establishing a high sense of urgency in managers and other staff members. 2. Failing to Create a Sufficiently Powerful Coalition – This occurs if the head of the organization is not supportive of the change or progress is attempted without a team effort. “Individuals alone never have the assets to overcome the “Status Quo”. 3. Underestimating the Power of Vision - Vision is essential to “Inspire” people to implement any new initiatives. Without vision, people become confused and lose their sense of direction as well as the energy needed to continue the change effort. 4. Under-Communicating the Vision – Without credible communication, people’s hearts and minds are never captured. There are three reasons that this occurs including: a. Lack of understanding of the New Approach b. Management remains silent c. Highly visible people behave anti-ethical toward the vision, creating cynicism. 5. Permitting Obstacles to Block the New Vision – Change requires people to act. Barriers (real or imagined) are disempowering to people’s efforts. Two common obstacles include: a. Supervisors who refuse to act. b. Demands that are inconsistent with change efforts. 6. Failing to Create Short-term Wins – Change takes time and has risks of losing momentum. People need short-term goals to meet and celebrate.