John P. Kotter Quotes

A leader needs enough understanding to fashion an intelligent strategy.

Most people don't lead their own lives - they accept their lives

No vision issue today is bigger than the question of efficiency versus some combination of innovation and customer service.

Anyone in a large organization who thinks major change is impossible should probably get out.

Great vision communication usually means heartfelt messages are coming from real human beings.

Outsiders have the intuitive ability to continually view problems in fresh ways and to identify ineffective practices and traditions.

Never underestimate the magnitude of the power of the forces that reinforce the status quo.

Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.

Valued achievements connect to people at a deeper level - and a deeper level can change behavior that is generally very difficult to change.

transformation is a process, not an event

A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever-present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent.

We see, we feel, we change.

The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people.

Leadership produces change. That is its primary function

We keep a change in place by helping to create a new, supportive, and sufficiently strong organizational culture.

Kotter International is about leading large-scale change, not just managing it.

Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome.

Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of others are never captured.

A culture truly changes only when a new way of operating has been shown to succeed over some minimum period of time.

Leadership is about coping with change

Commercial organisations that operate responsibly have benefitted by increased revenues of 682% compared to 166% for those that don't

Great leaders motivate large groups of individuals to improve the human condition.

Complacency is almost always the product of success or perceived success

Leadership is different from management, but not for the reasons most people think.

The world has 6 billion people and counting. We need to help 500 million people become better leaders so that billions can benefit.

Tradition is a very powerful force.

Most US corporations today are over-managed and under-led. They need to develop their capacity to exercise leadership.

We started Kotter International to improve leaders' ability to deal with big, important transformations in organizations - and in their lives.

We learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.

Changing behavior is less a matter of giving people analysis to influence their thoughts than helping them to see a truth to influence their feelings.

In a change effort, culture comes last, not first.

In an ever changing world, you never learn it all, even if you keep growing into your 90s.

One of the most powerful forms of information is feedback on our own actions.

We know that leadership is very much related to change. As the pace of change accelerates, there is naturally a greater need for effective leadership.

Motivation is not a thinking word; it's a feeling word.

The heart of change is in the emotions.

Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles.

Managers are trained to make incremental, programmatic improvements. They aren't trained to lead large-scale change.

In the final analysis, change sticks when it becomes the way we do things around here.