John P. Kotter

“We are always creating new tools and techniques to help people, but the fundamental framework is remarkably resilient, which means it must have something to do with the nature of organizations or human nature.”

“Over the years I have become convinced that we learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.”

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

“If you're overbooked, you can't manage pressing problems or even recognize they're pressing until too late.”

“More and more I'm finding that I'm reading history, I'm reading biography, I'm reading autobiography for a sense of people who've been able to provide leadership. I don't read leadership books anymore.”

“It's very difficult to innovate without requiring people to do something different. And whenever you require people to do something different, you're talking about change.”

“Tradition is a very powerful force.”

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

“Sometimes it doesn't hurt to talk around a little and see what lights people's eyes up and what makes them cloud over.”

“Urgency is unbelievably important when you're talking about, not little changes, but big changes.”

“I am often asked about the difference between 'change management' and 'change leadership,' and whether it's just a matter of semantics. These terms are not interchangeable.”

“True urgent leadership doesn't drain people. It does the opposite. It energizes them. It makes them feel excited.”

“Because management deals mostly with the status quo and leadership deals mostly with change, in the next century we are going to have to try to become much more skilled at creating leaders.”

“Congress is full of people who get reelected and reelected. How can you have urgency when there are all of those safe seats?”

“Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.”

“We worry about appearing awkward in a presentation. But up to a point, most people seem to feel more comfortable with less-than-perfect speaking abilities. It makes the speaker more human - and more vulnerable, meaning he is less likely to attack our decisions or beliefs.”

“If people think the boss is manipulating them to get them to work harder, it backfires.”

“I am always looking for stories that will shed light on how companies define themselves - for better or for worse. When shared with others, such stories can have an enormous impact on how well we move forward in the changing world around us.”

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