Consult these classic articles and popular books for additional ideas, frameworks, and guidance.

John Kotter Resources

Dr. John P. Kotter is an award winning business and management thought leader and Harvard Professor. The following resources have been adapted from his work.

  • Best Practices in Managing Change
    This table summarizes the ten best practices for leading change. It identifies the practices, the action steps you can take, and the things to watch out for.
  • Diagnostic: Change Process Assessment
    Answer these questions to assess how well your change effort is using best practices for achieving successful organizational change.

Articles and Books by John Kotter

  • Kotter, J.P. 2007. "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail." Harvard Business Review (January-February)
         A leading change consultant identifies the eight most errors leaders make that cause change initiatives to fail.
  • Kotter, J.P. 2012. Leading Change. Harvard Business Press.
         This best-selling guide to organizational change presents Kotter's eight-step framework for leading successful change.

More Articles

  • Aiken, C. and S. Keller. 2009. "The Irrational Side of Change Management." McKinsey Quarterly (April)
         McKinsey consultants explain the importance of understanding change from the perspective of the affected employees.
  • Ford, J.D. and L.W. Ford. 2009. "Decoding Resistance to Change." Harvard Business Review (April)
         This article views resistance to change as an important source of feedback and valuable information that a leader needs to consider rater than dismiss when implementing change.
  • Kanter, R.M. 1999. "The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders." Leader to Leader (Summer): 15-22.
         This article identifies some of the softer skills leaders need for successful change and provides tips for getting unstuck in the middle of change efforts.

Other Books

  • Cawsey, T.F., G. Deszca, & C. Ingols. 2015. Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit, Third Edition. Sage Publications.
          This comprehensive textbook explains models of organizational change and provides useful exercises for planning and implementing change.

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