John P. Kotter Quotes
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Great leaders motivate large groups of individuals to improve the human condition.
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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.
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A leader needs enough understanding to fashion an intelligent strategy.
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Anyone in a large organization who thinks major change is impossible should probably get out.
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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.
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A culture truly changes only when a new way of operating has been shown to succeed over some minimum period of time.
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Commercial organisations that operate responsibly have benefitted by increased revenues of 682% compared to 166% for those that don't
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I'm impatient. Typically people think they know all about change and don't need help. Their approach tends to be more management-oriented than leadership-oriented. It's very frustrating.
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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.
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We see, we feel, we change.
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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.
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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.
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Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of others are never captured.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Never underestimate the magnitude of the power of the forces that reinforce the status quo.
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Over the years I have become convinced that we learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us ... Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
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People are more inclined to be drawn in if their leader has a compelling vision. Great leaders help people get in touch with their own aspirations and then will help them forge those aspirations into a personal vision.
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Most US corporations today are over-managed and under-led. They need to develop their capacity to exercise leadership.
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Valued achievements connect to people at a deeper level—and a deeper level can change behavior that is generally very difficult to change.
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Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there.
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In a change effort, culture comes last, not first.
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The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people.
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Leadership is about coping with change
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A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever-present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent.
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We keep a change in place by helping to create a new, supportive, and sufficiently strong organizational culture.
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Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.
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In an ever changing world, you never learn it all, even if you keep growing into your 90s.
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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.
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