"Never underestimate the power of a good story," Kotter and Cohen testify in this highly readable sequel to Kotter's groundbreaking Leading Change. Practicing what they preach, they have culled, from hundreds of interviews conducted by Deloitte Consulting, the 34 most instructive and vivid accounts of companies undergoing large-scale change. With chapters organized by each of the eight stages of change Kotter identified in his 1996 bestseller, the authors deftly contrast success stories with fumbles, then utilize the compare-and-contrast format for lively "how-to/how-not-to" discussion. Throughout, they pepper their discussion with arresting (and quotable) aphorisms, such as "Dying will not help" and "Honesty always trumps propaganda," to ensure that readers remain on task, engaged and awake. Viewed in stages with concrete examples and convenient end-of-chapter summaries, the challenges and opportunities of the change process emerge in sharp relief. Kotter and Cohen demonstrate the critical difference that focus, faith, leadership, commitment and creativity make in winning employees' hearts, offering good stories that truly apply to each topic. "The single biggest challenge in the process is changing people's behavior," they insist, while providing convincing evidence (as well as examples of the effectiveness of videos and creative visual displays) that their method of "see-feel-change" will enable a company to overcome resistance lurking in its midst. (Aug. 1) Forecast: Author appearances and a national marketing and advertising campaign will alert Leading Change's huge audience (it is HBS Press's all-time bestseller) to this practical no-nonsense guide that pumps up, orients and keeps on track companies struggling with change. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Prolific author and change management expert Kotter and consultant Cohen join forces in this 2002 update to Kotter's groundbreaking Leading Change (1996). The earlier work revealed why efforts at change so often end in failure and outlined eight critical steps needed to turn things around. Having interviewed more than 400 people from 130 organizations in the midst of major changes, Kotter and Cohen reveal the core problems people face at each of these eight stages and provide straightforward solutions. Their main finding is that the central issue concerns not structure or systems but behavior and how to alter it. An overview of how people see and meet change is followed by chapters on the steps to successful, large-scale change, including increasing urgency, building a guiding team, getting the vision right, and empowering action. The inclusion of many firsthand stories from people involved in change efforts makes this a useful book for any organization. The crisp, bright narration by Oliver Wyman helps to maintain interest in this material. Highly recommended for all academic libraries supporting business curricula and larger public libraries.--Dale Farris, Groves, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kotter, world-renowned expert and consultant on bringing about change in organizations, and Cohen, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLC, have written a short, clearly written, and nonscholarly work that illustrates the change process. Each chapter explains one of Kotter's eight steps in the change process and provides 34 real-life stories based on interviews with about 400 people in more than 130 organizations of all kinds. These examples show how to change behavior by first changing people's feelings (attitudes) through various creative communication tools, e.g., showings of Videotapes of the Angry Customer and Gloves on the Boardroom Table. The eight steps in the change process discussed include (1) creating a sense of urgency among a large number of people in the organization; (2) having a strong change team; (3) developing a vision, goals, plans, objectives, and a budget; (4) communicating these effectively to everyone in the organization; (5) empowering everyone; (6) having short-term wins by making the objectives challenging but achievable; (7) continually communicating and solving problems together; and (8) making change a part of the organization's culture through the performance appraisal and incentive systems. This book is an appropriate for managers in all kinds of organizations. Recommended for business collections supporting practitioners. Public, academic, and professional libraries. D. W. Huffmire emeritus, University of Connecticut