LEADING CHANGEWhy Transformation Efforts Fail?

By John P KotterHarvard Business Review March-

April 1995

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We know that the change needs to

happen, but we don’t really know

how to go about doing delivering

it. Where to start? Whom do you

involve? How do you see it

through to the end?

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John P Kotter“ A professor at Harvard Business School

and world renowned change expert, Kotter

introduced his eight-step change process

in his 1995 book, “Leading Change””

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Error #1 : Not Establishing a Great Sense of Urgency

Looking into company’s competitive / market position, tech trends, financials

Identifying and discussing crisis, potential crisis or major opportunities

• Underestimating how hard it can be to drive people out of their comfort zone

• Grossly overestimating how successful they have already been in increasing urgency

• Lack of patience

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“Change to be successful, 75% of a company’s management needs to “buy into” the change; in other

words, you have to work hard on.”

“If you act without preparation you could be in for a very bumpy ride”

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Error #2 : Not Creating a Powerful Coalition

Assembling a group with enough power to lead the effort

Encouraging the group to work as a team

Can be as small as 3-5 individuals, work as a team

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Error #3 : Lacking a Vision

• Series of discussion : better vision emerges

• No sensible vision – transformation effort dissolves

• Complicated or blurry to be useful

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Error #4 : Undercommunicating the vision

• 3 patterns with respect to the communication

• Single Communication

Transformation Vision

• Speeches to the employees

Head of the Organization • Behaves in

ways that are antithetical

Senior Executives

• Transformation is impossible unless people are willing to help

• Challenge : If short term sacrifices including job loss

• “Walk the Talk”

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Error #5 : Not Removing Obstacles to the New Vision

• Communications is never enough by itself

• Getting rid of obstacles to change

• Changing systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision

• Encouraging risk taking and non traditional ideas activities and actions

• Empowering others to act on the vision

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Error #6 : Not Systematically Planning for, and Creating Short-Term Wins Planning for visible performance

improvements

Creating those improvements

Recognizing and rewarding employees involved in the improvements

Planning and creating short term wins

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Error #7 : Declaring Victory Too Soon• Celebrating a win is good, declaring it can be

catastrophic

• Long process until changes sink deeply

• Problems starts early in the process

• Premature victory celebration that kills momentum

• Combo of change initiators and resistors that creates premature victory celebration

• Leaders of successful efforts use the credibility afforded by short term wins to tackle even bigger problems

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Error #8 : Not Anchoring Changes in the Corporation's Culture

Conscious Attempt to show people how the new approaches, behaviours, attitudes have helped improve

the performanceTaking sufficient time to make sure that the next

generation management really does personify the new approach.

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Establishing a sense of urgency

Forming a Powerful Coalition

Creating a Vision

Communicating the Vision

Empowering others to act on the Vision

Planning and creating short term wins

Consolidating Improvements and producing still more changes

Institutionalizing new approaches

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Presented ByDivya Liz George

Srushti M Rao

Genevieve Dias

Pearl Vas

Nelson J