6 . Plan for and create short term wins 7 . Consolidate improvements and continue to produce change 8 . Institutionalize new approaches
Eight Reasons Why Transformation Efforts Fail ( Kotter , 1995 )
1 . Not establishing a great enough sense of urgency 2 . Not creating a powerful enough coalition 3 . Lack of Vision 4 . Under-communicating the vision by a factor of ten 5 . Not removing obstacles to the new vision 6 . Not systematically planning for and creating short-term wins 7 . Declaring victory too soon 8 . Not anchoring changes in the organizations culture
The Eight Transformation Steps
1 . Establish a Sense of Urgency : Prove the status quo is more dangerous than launching into the unknown . The urgency rate is high enough when about 75 % of leadership is honestly convinced that business as usual is no longer acceptable . Anything less and you will have problems later on in the process .
2 . Form a Powerful Guiding Coalition : Assemble a group with enough power and wherewithal to lead the change effort ; Influence this team to work together and the others will follow . ( ESA a good case ) Major change is impossible unless the head of the organization is an active supporter . The power coalition needs to be powerful in terms of titles , expertise and information , reputations and relationships . The number can be from 3-5 in smaller groups on up to 50 in larger groups . Senior management usually forms the core of the group , but you will also find board members , key customer reps and union leaders . The coalition needs to operate outside of the organization ’ s normal hierarchy , awkward at times but necessary . Companies that fail in this phase have usually under-
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estimated the difficulties of producing change . Sometimes those failing organizations have no history of teamwork and therefore undervalue the importance of this type of coalition . Efforts lacking a powerful coalition can make progress for a while , but sooner or later opposition gathers together and stops the change .
3 . Create a Vision : Create a vision to help guide the change effort ; Create achievable goals and strategies for achieving those goals and fulfilling the vision . A useful rule of thumb , if you can ’ t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less and get a reaction that signifies both understanding and interest , you have not yet completed this phase of the process .
4 . Communicate the Vision : Use every available means to communicate the new vision and strategies ; Teach new behaviors using the guiding coalition to set the example for others to imitate ; The guiding coalition must exhibit that which they wish to change in others . They must develop a picture of the future that is relatively easy to communicate and appeals to the entire organization . Success usually requires short-term sacrifices by everyone in the organization . Major change requires the organization ’ s leadership to ‘ walk the walk ’ and become model , living symbols of the new culture . If you know you have people who are going to be tougher to modify than others , consider making them a part of the guiding coalition and / or the vision-creation team , they see things through a different set of eyes which can benefit the transition development plans and their personal involvement can help ease the transition for them personally .
5 . Empower Others to Act on the Vision : Remove obstacles that stand in the way of the changes desired ; Modify systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision ; Encourage risk taking and nontraditional ideas , activities and actions . Involve large numbers of people as change progresses , the more people involved the better the outcome . In the first half of a transformation , no organization has the momentum , power or time to get rid of all of the obstacles .