« 50 in 50. #4: A sales pitch masquerading as a book | Main | 50 in 50. #6: Why She Buys »
November 11, 2009
50 in 50. #5: Leading Change
Okay, okay, I admit it: I’m kind of cheating. This is hardly the first time I've read this classic book on change by John Kotter.
But I did skim through Leading Change the other day, in preparation for a workshop I’m giving to a client’s leadership team. And I’m here to report that this book is as smart, as useful and as practical as it was when it was published in 1996.
Kotter doesn’t try to dazzle us with academic theory and change models. He presents a simple formula for change management that works. There’s no smoke, no mirrors—just common sense for how to introduce change into organizations and make it stick.
For example, Kotter was the first change expert to talk about the need to communicate a compelling case for change, so that employees understand why change is needed. He also advocates having a vision for the future; otherwise, employees won't know where the organization is heading.
If you haven’t read this book, you should. And if you read it a while ago, it’s worth picking up again.
Since change is hardly going away—as a matter of fact, it seems to be intensifying—you need Leading Change.
Posted by Alison Davis at November 11, 2009 05:11 PM
(Find me around the web)
