Top 15 John Kotter Quotes

We see, we feel, we change.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Without conviction that you can make change happen, you will not act, even if you see the vision. Your feelings will hold you back.

Never underestimate the power of the mind to disempower.

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

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.

Never underestimate the power of a good story.

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

Budgeting is a math exercise, number crunching. Planning is a logical, linear process. Strategizing requires a great deal of information about customers and competitors, along with conceptual skills. Visioning uses a very different part of the brain than budgeting. As the name implies, it involves trying to see possible futures. It inevitably has both a creative and emotional component (e.g., “How do we feel about the options?”). When you use “orthodox planning” to create a vision, frustration and failure are inevitable.

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