Leading Change, Ten Years Later
John Kotter
Kotter Associates



"The rate of change in the business world is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up over the next few decades. Enterprises everywhere will be presented with even more terrible hazards and wonderful opportunities, driven by the globalization of the economy along with related technological and social trends." -- John Kotter, Leading Change.

I made that prediction ten years ago. Then the stock market bubble burst. Terrorists struck at the heart of American capitalism. Corporate scandals shook the world. The global economy accelerated, with China and India flexing economic muscle not previously imagined. Organizations that have not been able to transform themselves effectively in the face of these and other forces have faltered. Some have failed.

I wrote Leading Change to provide a roadmap, an eight step process for people in organizations to follow to make the change process more successful. A follow up book, The Heart of Change, addressed the see-feel-change dynamic that fuels action by showing people potent reasons for change that spark their emotions. Next September I will publish Our Iceberg is Melting, a story about change that incorporates the eight change steps and the see-feel-change concept in fable form.

How well do the eight change steps described in Leading Change hold up a decade later? Let's take a look.


Create a Sense of Urgency. Even today, the pull of the status quo is so strong as to derail transformation efforts if urgency is not clear. Enough people at all levels of an organization need to be convinced of the need for change or else the transformation efforts imposed can be slowed or sabotaged. How many technology companies in the late 1990s made clear to their stakeholders the possible consequences of a change in the mood of the market and prepared for it? Many did not and are no longer with us. Today, we see companies resting on their laurels for too long (as have, for example, some auto makers with their fuel inefficient SUVs and trucks) then struggling to catch up to changes in the marketplace.

Pull Together the Guiding Coalition. This crucial step is still often disregarded by even knowledgeable leaders. The right team—not just top players, not just un-empowered middle managers, not just technologically qualified team members—is still a must for effective change to happen. In New York, Mayor Guiliani gathered such a team, and worked with them closely to plan for and deal with any disaster that might strike the city. On 9-11, this team was able to react quickly and they won the admiration of a nation for their efforts.

Develop the Change Vision and Strategy. At an alarmingly high rate, change efforts still often neglect this step or implement it badly. There can be a clear and urgent need for change but no vision and strategy is ever developed. For example, a report that a category 3 or higher hurricane will cause levees to breach will not necessarily result in a vision for building stronger levees or a strategy either for doing so or for handling the consequences if disaster occurs. Yet we have seen organizations that have made outstanding strides articulating a vision and creating the right strategy to make it happen. Eight years ago, few people had ever heard of eBay. Today, millions of people recognize the company that CEO Meg Whitman and her team, with a powerful vision and strategy, have created—an unparalleled global ecommerce engine and a leading company that has reshaped online commerce and payments around the world.

Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in. We can look to recent events in business and government to see that change imposed is not change effected. The need for a large enough group of people in an organization to understand the vision and strategy remains critical to successful transformations. One factor that has changed over the years is methods of communicating. Leaders can use new and innovative ways to get across the messages about the urgent need for change, the new direction and how to get there. Emails and screen savers and text messaging can supplement the old posters and newsletters. Companies like British Petroleum use broad based communications to help customers as well as employees understand how the changing picture of energy in the world today affects its vision and strategy.

Empower Others to Act. When leaders really do this effectively the results can be astonishing. Southwest Airlines comes to mind. In an industry crushed by the weight of rigid structures, systems and culture, where companies have been figuratively crashing and burning over the past decade, Southwest has broken through those barriers to maintain its success based largely on its expectation that all employees act in a leadership capacity. To cite but one example—a flight attendant questioned why the planes' trash bags needed to carry the Southwest logo. The company decided the bags indeed did not need to carry the logo and saved $300,000 per year. The CFO personally thanked her.

Produce Short-Term Wins. This step is still one of the hardest to remember. Even my small crew, working on our latest book, forgot to celebrate our signing of the agreement with the publisher, St. Martins Press (look for Our Iceberg is Melting, in bookstores in September). We were caught up with getting the draft out to key reviewers and early adopters, monitoring companies who were testing its use in their change efforts, and developing the related website, products and training materials, that we were approaching burn-out. After one particularly exhausting day, one of us suggested we stop and celebrate how far we had gotten. We did and that gave us renewed energy for the efforts ahead. By the way, it wasn't me who made the suggestion. I was so caught up, I forgot!

Don't Let Up. In the past decade, we have seen some companies flame up with great initial momentum and then crash, unable to sustain the innovation needed for continued success. Others have risen from their knees and managed great leaps. In Apple's case, 1996 was a terrible year but by 1997, Steve Jobs was back to transform the firm and he did. iMacs were released in 1998 to great acclaim. But he didn't stop there and rest on his laurels. More change brought iBooks in 1999, and in 2001, a strange little something called an iPod came onto the market. iPods have been improving and proliferating ever since. Because changes are happening even faster than I anticipated a decade ago, "don't let up" is more important now than it ever was.

Create a New Culture. This last step for successful transformations is also even more important today for making change stick. Since change is happening so rapidly today, a new element in this step of the change process is becoming more evident. Now, I am certain that the concept of transformations and knowledge about ways to make it happen should be embedded deeply in the organization. Many more people in an organization need to have this knowledge and skill set than ever before. I will have more to say about that in my next report to you.

Reflecting on the steps for change, I think they hold up pretty well. Still, there are changes I would make today in how I wrote the book originally. For instance, I wrote the book mainly for a business audience but have found that all kinds of groups and organizations use it. I would have made the language more broadly appealing and frankly written a shorter book. Also, I would have used more stories to illustrate my points. I have learned a great deal more about how relevant stories can affect change efforts and I am changing the way I write as a result.

I am always looking for examples of transformation efforts, both successful and unsuccessful, in organizations. Stories that will shed light on how the eight change steps were taken or neglected and their consequences, when shared with others, can have enormous impact on how well we all move forward in the changing world around us. If you have a story to share, please let me know about it. You can go to www.ouricebergismelting.com and head for the "Tips from Users" page. A brief description of your change effort and your contact information is a good start. We'll get in touch with you and take it from there.

Additional Information:
John P. Kotter, a world-renowned expert on leadership at the Harvard Business School, has been the premier voice on how the best organizations actually "do" change. His international bestseller Leading Change—which outlined an actionable, 8-step process for implementing successful transformations—became the change bible for managers around the world. In October 2001, Business Week magazine rated Kotter the #1 "leadership guru" in America based on a survey they conducted of 504 enterprises.

For more information on Kotter's books and the eight steps for successful change, visit the web site for his new book, www.ouricebergismelting.com.