John P. Kotter Quotes - Page 3

Never underestimate the power of the mind to disempower.

Great vision communication usually means heartfelt messages are coming from real human beings.

In terms of getting people to experiment more and take more risk, there are at least three things that immediately come to my mind. Number one, of course, is role-modeling it yourself. Number two is when people take intelligent, smart risks and yet it doesn't work out, not shooting them. And number three, being honest with yourself. If the culture you have is radically different from an experiment and take-risk culture, then you have a big change you going to have to make—and no little gimmicks are going to do it for you.

A leader needs enough understanding to fashion an intelligent strategy.

Valued achievements connect to people at a deeper level—and a deeper level can change behavior that is generally very difficult to change.

Many years ago, I think I got my first insight on how an incredibly diverse team can work together and do astonishing things, and not just misunderstand each other and fight.

Great leadership does not mean running away from reality. Sometimes the hard truths might just demoralize the company, but at other times sharing difficulties can inspire people to take action that will make the situation better.

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.

In an ever changing world, you never learn it all, even if you keep growing into your 90s.

I'm impatient. Typically people think they know all about change and don't need help. Their approach tends to be more management-oriented than leadership-oriented. It's very frustrating.

No vision issue today is bigger than the question of efficiency versus some combination of innovation and customer service.

If the culture you have is radically different from an 'experiment and take-risk' culture, then you have a big change you going to have to make - and no little gimmicks are going to do it for you.

Commercial organisations that operate responsibly have benefitted by increased revenues of 682% compared to 166% for those that don't