Summary of The Heart Of Change (John Kotter and Dan Cohen)

1. The Eight Stages of Successful Large-Scale Change

1. Establish a sense of urgency.
   Organizations that handle change productively create a sense of urgency amongst the most important people. They show there is a compelling need to change and motivate these people to get into action rather than be content with the status quo.
2. Create a guiding coalition.
   Every change initiative will require leadership. The guiding coalition is the steering committee and action team combined. A credible guiding coalition will be a deft mix of people with the right skills, connections, skills and formal authority. The stronger this team is, the more likely the change will be completed successfully.
3. Develop both a vision and a strategy.
   To encourage change, the guiding team will articulate a vision of what the enterprise will be like at the end of the change process. They will also develop a set of workable strategies by which that vision can be realized.
4. Communicate the vision.
   The goal of this stage is not solely to convey the change vision and strategy but to induce understanding of the changes right throughout the organization. Deeds speak more loudly than words in this area. The most successful change programs feature direct, undiluted and repeated communication about the changes.
5. Empower employees to act.
   Productive change programs need a heavy dose of empowerment if they are to succeed. The priority here is to give people enough authority to remove all the obstacles that can arise. Empowerment from this perspective also means to provide the information systems and other resources which will be required for people to act differently in the future.
6. Generate short-term wins.
   Some short-term wins provide credibility and validation the change is worth it. The more success that is generated by short-term projects which are successful, the greater the momentum will build for the overall change program itself and the more enthusiasm that will be felt by the people involved.
7. Consolidate the gains to build momentum.
   In effective change programs, the leaders don’t let up after a few early successes. Instead, there is a deliberate effort to deliver wave after wave of additional benefits. Doing this means the requisite level of resources, attention and energy will continue to be applied to the long-term change project.
8. Anchor changes in the culture.
   Finally, good change programs make a permanent difference. The changes are made to stick by anchoring them in the culture of the organization. Over time, people will naturally continue to act in ways that are consistent with the change program.