John P. Kotter is internationally known and widely regarded as the foremost speaker on the topics of Leadership and Change. His is the premier voice on how the best organizations actually achieve successful transformations. The Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School and a graduate of MIT and Harvard, Kotter’s vast experience and knowledge on successful change and leadership have been proven time and again. Most recently Kotter was involved in the creation and co-founding of Kotter International, a leadership organization that helps Global 5000 company leaders develop the practical skills and implementation methodologies required to lead change in a complex, large-scale business environment.
Kotter has authored 18 books, twelve of them bestsellers. His works have been printed in over 150 foreign language editions and total sales exceed three million copies. His latest book, Buy-In, focuses on the problems associated with getting others engaged and committed to good ideas and provides solutions for dealing with attacks on your good ideas. His books are in the top 1% of sales on Amazon.com.
John Kotter’s articles in The Harvard Business Review over the past twenty years have sold more reprints than any of the hundreds of distinguished authors who have written for that publication during the same time period. Kotter has been on the Harvard Business School faculty since 1972. In 1980, at the age of 33, he was given tenure and a full professorship, making him one of the youngest people in the history of the University to be so honored.
Professor Kotter's article "Accelerate!" in the Harvard Business Review—in which he first debuted his Dual Operating System business model—won the 2012 McKinsey Award, recognizing it as the most significant article published in the magazine that year. This article has since been expanded into a full book by the same name.
Professor Kotter is the 2009 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by ASTD (American Society for Training & Development). This award was presented in recognition of his extensive body of work and the significant impact he has had on learning and performance in organizations.
What People Are Saying About Dr. Kotter:
"Your talk was instrumental in helping me raise the leadership bar."
"You clearly sneaked under the defenses of even the most skeptical of our people and established memorable reference points which will be cited repeatedly in the future. More importantly, you delivered reinforcement, hope and direction for their pursued leadership development aspirations.”
This was a quite uplifting and inspirational experience for me - delivered by one of the finest teachers I have ever seen. I will not forget this one.
Most organizational change initiatives fail spectacularly (at worst) or deliver lukewarm results (at best). In his international bestseller Leading Change, John Kotter revealed why change is so hard, and provided an actionable, eight-step process for implementing successful transformations. The book became the change bible for managers worldwide. Now, in A Sense of Urgency, Kotter shines the spotlight on the crucial first step in his framework: creating a sense of urgency by getting people to actually see and feel the need for change. Why focus on urgency? Without it, any change effort is doomed. Kotter reveals the insidious nature of complacency in all its forms and guises. In this exciting new book, Kotter explains: How to go beyond "the business case" for change to overcome the fear and anger that can suppress urgency Ways to ensure that your actions and behaviors -- not just your words -- communicate the need for change How to keep fanning the flames of urgency even after your transformation effort has scored some early successes Written in Kotter's signature no-nonsense style, this concise and authoritative guide helps you set the stage for leading a successful transformation in your company.