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  • March–April 1979
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

Choosing Strategies for Change

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and John P. Kotter
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Abstract

"From the frying pan into the fire," "let sleeping dogs lie," and "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" are all well-known sayings born of the fear of change. When people are threatened with change in organizations, similar maxims about certain people and departments are trotted out to prevent an alteration in the status quo. Fear of change is understandable, but because the environment changes rapidly, and it has been doing so increasingly, organizations cannot afford not to change. One major task of a manager, then, is to implement change, and that entails overcoming resistance to it. In this article, the authors describe four basic reasons people resist change. They also describe various methods for dealing with the resistance and provide a guide to what kinds of approaches will work when the different types of resistance occur.

Keywords

Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Change Management

Citation

Schlesinger, Leonard A., and John P. Kotter. "Choosing Strategies for Change." Harvard Business Review 57, no. 2 (March–April 1979).
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About The Authors

Leonard A. Schlesinger

General Management
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John P. Kotter

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More from the Authors
  • Fidji Simo: Growing the Pie at Instacart By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Barnett
  • Thrivent: From Insurance Agents to Financial Advisors By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Tom Quinn
  • The Meteoric Rise of Skims By: Ayelet Israeli, Jill Avery and Leonard A. Schlesinger
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