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A Sense of Urgency | 
 enlarge | Author: John P. Kotter
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $13.44
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 190
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 1422179710
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.406
EAN: 9781422179710
ASIN: 1422179710
Publication Date: September 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Most organizational change initiatives fail spectacularly (at worst) or deliver lukewarm results (at best). In his international bestseller Leading Change, John Kotter revealed why change is so hard, and provided an actionable, eight-step process for implementing successful transformations. The book became the change bible for managers worldwide.
Now, in Urgency, Kotter shines the spotlight on the crucial first step in his framework: creating a sense of urgency by getting people to actually see and feel the need for change.
Why focus on urgency? Without it, any change effort is doomed. Kotter reveals the insidious nature of complacency in all its forms and guises.
In this exciting new book, Kotter explains:
How to go beyond "the business case" for change to overcome the fear and anger that can suppress urgencyWays to ensure that your actions and behaviors -- not just your words -- communicate the need for changeHow to keep fanning the flames of urgency even after your transformation effort has scored some early successes
Written in Kotter's signature no-nonsense style, this concise and authoritative guide helps you set the stage for leading a successful transformation in your company.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Excellent read with some valuable insight October 9, 2008
Kotter's description of "false" sense of urgency resonated with multiple situations I have encountered while working with different management teams. Creating the right sense of urgency is one of the most difficult challenges for leaders and Kotter has done a great job of providing valuable insight for all business leaders.
A Sense of Urgency October 5, 2008
A Sense of Urgency - reviewed
About a month ago I received an email from Michelle Morgan, the publicist for John Kotter, my hero when it comes to the topic of organizational change. Ever since I read the seminal work "Leading Change", I have based a lot of my suggestions, consulting, coaching, and other advice on Kotter's 8-step process of change.
I was surprised and honored when I read that Michelle had reviewed a lot of my articles and blog posts and invited me to write this review of the newest book. Right up front I like to say that I believe "A sense of Urgency" is a good, valuable book, especially for its clarifications of what to look for to successfully begin the change process in an organization.
That being said, I also believe the book does not reach the full potential a discussion of this most important part of the 8-step change process could have. The 8 steps are mentioned in the book but the flow from developing a sense of urgency and then having it maintained by the guiding coalition (step-2) isn't very clear.
Let's start at the beginning: In a great review of previous writings and a clear development of the importance of "A Sense of Urgency", Kotter leads the reader into the topic. He begins to separate complacency, a false sense of urgency and true urgency from each other. At this early point in the book I realized that the title of the book is really unfortunate.
I believe this book should have an action-title and then use it as a continuous thread throughout. Having a sense of something is one state of being, taking action and actually creating something new is more than a sense. In several parts of the book the word `urgency' is used as an action-word. I am sure there would be better options. The best possible word is something an editor or a title developer is better suited to come up with, but I would have loved to see a title like : "Vitalization" or maybe "Excitation".
Besides the title that doesn't really fit the call for action, two other aspects of the book caught most of my attention, one positive, one not so appreciated. In "A sense of Urgency", John Kotter makes a great case and really detailed suggestions about tactics to be used to keep the change process flowing. I especially liked the part that deals with the NoNos he first mentioned in the 2005 book "Our Iceberg is melting". Fitting examples and great suggestions showing how to handle different circumstances help readers and anybody planning to implement Kotter's change process in a very practical way.
One of the big disappointments for me is the view on outside help. As a coach and consultant I am biased. Still I feel that John Kotter missed a great opportunity to describe how outside help can actually support the leader, the guiding coalition, and the change teams to maintain the urgency needed to succeed. Consultants are shown in a neutral to slightly negative way, but coaches aren't really mentioned at all.
Several of the examples describing failed initiatives or attempts to get an organization to change actually beg for the introduction of a coach, much more so than a consultant. The profession of coaching is rapidly growing and has gained a lot of trust in the business world. To leave it out when speaking about developing and maintaining a sense of urgency and then taking the necessary actions to establish the desired changes throughout the organization has been a great disappointment for me.
In a time when institutions we believed to be secure and trustworthy are crumbling all around us; when the way fundamental resources used to keep our economy and our lives running are rapidly being replaced by new, cleaner alternatives, and competition is accelerating on a global scale, we need ways to establish change in a successful way. "A Sense of Urgency" provides added and modernized details to the first two steps of the seminal 8-step process John Kotter developed about 15 years ago. We all should find ways to increase the likelihood of successful organizational change from the 30% Kotter describes for the last two decades to something much closer to 70% or even 80%.
Anybody who ever wrote a book knows that there are things that could have come out better. "A Sense of Urgency" is a valuable contribution for anybody planning or involved in a tough change effort. Reading this book will prepare us for what to expect when these changes are needed and teaches us to try to implement them preventively rather than in the middle of a crisis. I look forward to added details to the other steps in Kotter's change process. This is a solid start.
 Maintaining your sense of urgency September 22, 2008
Through good times and bad, through crises and times of change, businesses that thrive, grow and succeed are those best able to maintain a sense of urgency. But just what does that mean, to maintain "a sense of urgency?"
Many people equate urgency to lots of tasks being done quickly and frantically. And that's exactly the wrong approach when a business is contending with a crisis or profound change. While complacency is certainly the wrong way to respond to challenging circumstances, a false sense of urgency can often be more dangerous.
In his latest book, A Sense of Urgency, John P. Kotter ably explains the difference between the three responses and provides a very useful guide for businesspeople facing change, crises and challenges.
[...]
How to solve "the number-one problem" with workforce performance September 16, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Years ago, Stephen Covey suggested that many (most?) executives spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough on what is important. In Chapter 1 of this book, John Kotter suggests that, in fact, the problem is that many (most?) workers -- including executives -- do not have "a true sense of urgency [that is a] highly positive and highly focused force [and] the result of people, up and down the hierarchy, who provide the leadership needed to create and re-create this increasingly important asset. These sorts of people use a strategy that aims at the heart as well as the mind. They use four sets of tactics." Kotter devotes the balance of his book to explaining what the strategy and tactics are, why they are essential to the success of individuals as well as to the success of their organization, and how those who read his book can execute the strategy and tactics to achieve the given objectives, whatever they may be.
As I read this book, I was reminded of recent research conducted by the Gallup Organization indicating that 29% of the U.S. workforce is engaged (i.e. loyal, enthusiastic, and productive) whereas 55% is passively disengaged. That is, they are going through the motions, doing only what they must, "mailing it in," coasting, etc. What about the other 16%? They are "actively disengaged" in that they are doing whatever they can to undermine their employer's efforts to succeed. They have a toxic impact on their associates and, in many instances, on customer relations. These are stunning statistics. How to explain them? Reasons vary from one organization to the next. However, most experts agree that no more than 5% of any given workforce consists of "bad apples," troublemakers, chronic complainers, subversives, etc. How to get as many as possible among the other 50% to become positively engaged?
It is important to note that, for many years, Kotter has conducted rigorous and extensive research of his own on employee engagement and has a wide and deep range of hands-on experience with hundreds of major corporations that were either planning change initiatives or had only recently embarked on them. In three of his published works (Leading Change, The Heart of Change with Dan Cohen, and Our Iceberg Is Melting), he explains why more than 70% of change initiatives fail. "The number-one problem [organizations] have is all about creating a sense of urgency - and that's the first step in a series of actions needed to succeed in a changing world...Winners first make sure that a sufficient number of people feel a true sense of urgency to look for an organization's critical opportunities and hazards now." It is not that Kotter disagrees with Covey. On the contrary. If I understand what Kotter shares in this book, one of his key points is that workers must devote most of their time to what is most important...and do so by creating and recreating "a true sense of urgency" at all levels and in all areas.
In this context, I am reminded of a hospital emergency room. Its success requires adequate resources as well as a highly skilled staff with cross-functional capabilities. All of its members share "a true sense of urgency" when responding to all manner of health crises. More often than not, they are treating strangers about whom they know little (if anything) and sometimes must deal with a life-or-death situation. There is no time for complacency. Everyone must be fully engaged. For the ER team to be successful, its members must be both intellectually and emotionally committed to assist those entrusted to their care. There is no place on the team for anyone who is unwilling and/or unable to accept these responsibilities. Kotter's point (and I wholeheartedly agree) is that no team can succeed unless and until each of its members feels as well as understands "a true sense of urgency" and that is as true of executives and those on the shop floor as it is of ERs. "Get that right and you are off to a great start. Get that right and you can produce results that you very much want, and the world very much needs."
The other three tactics are best revealed within Kotter's narrative, in context. Now I wish to shift my attention to some material in Chapter 6 as Kotter discusses two perspectives on the nature of crises. "The first group, by far the larger, sees crises as horrid events, and for obvious reasons." Therefore, every effort is to avoid them or at least to prepare for them with comprehensive plans for crisis management and damage control. "A very different perspective on the nature of crises is described with the metaphor of a `burning platform.' In this view, crises are not necessarily bad and may, under certain conditions, actually be required to succeed in an increasingly changing world." Which perspective is correct? "Neither," Kotter responds, and then he explains various downside risks of a damage control mind-set or when using a crisis to reduce complacency and create. Again, what he recommends is best revealed within the narrative. However, I want to reassure those who read this brief commentary that Kotter fully appreciates the potential value of that contingency planning and crisis management. (He is a world-renowned expert on both.) He also clearly aware of problems that could occur when crying "Wolf!" in the absence of such a threat. In this context, his objective is to help his reader to understand how and why there are times when judicious use of created crisis can be appropriate. That said, "any naivete about the downside risks can cause disaster" and for that reason, he identifies and briefly discusses four "Big Mistakes" (Pages 136-141) and then suggests that crises can be used to create true urgency if eight principles he recommends are followed. (Please see Pages 142-143.) In a world in which change is the only constant and seems to be occurring at an every-increasing velocity, Kotter notes that "finding opportunities in crises probably reduces your overall risk." It seems to me that in this chapter, Kotter explores a previously neglected dimension of crisis of management, and once again, he indicates still other applications of the eight-step pattern introduced in the aforementioned earlier books, Leading Change, The Heart of Change with Dan Cohen, and Our Iceberg Is Melting.
In Chapter 9, he shares his thoughts about how to sustain a high sense of urgency in an organization. That is indeed a major challenge, especially when thinking in terms of doing so throughout an entire enterprise. Obviously, leadership is needed at all levels and in all areas. "The ultimate solution to the problem of urgency dropping after successes is to create the right culture. This is especially true as we move from a world in which change is most episodic to a world in which change is continuous." Completing that transition is never easy but is far easier in what Kotter characterizes as "the right culture." Although significantly different in most ways, all high-performance companies seem to have a culture in which a majority of those involved take pride in what they achieve but are convinced that there is always room for improvement, that they can always do better. They are never satisfied. They view mistakes, errors, detours, dry wells, blind alleys, etc. as valuable learning opportunities. Their change initiatives to sustain improvement tend to be customer-driven and with, you guessed it, "a true sense of urgency."
Is this also true of your culture? If not, I urge you to read this book first and then each of the other three (Leading Change, The Heart of Change with Dan Cohen, and then Our Iceberg Is Melting) to prepare yourself to attract and engage others in urgently needed change initiatives. If not now, when? If not you, who?
Meanwhile, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock....
Useful in business and nonprofits September 15, 2008
Throughout my career I have read other books by John Kotter, most notably Leading Change. I came across Our Iceburg is Melting this summer after reading about it in the NY Times. That book, a fable using the same decison making process outlined in the 1994 Leading Change book, was very accessible and made it plain that Kotter's 8 step methodolgy really had merit.
For the last three years I have been working with nonprofit organizations that are being forced, because of the changing economy, demographic shifts and fundraising realities, to make fundamental changes in their organizations. I have found the greatest problem has been creating urgency in complacent organizations.
This book A Sense of Urgency is a perfect distillation of Kotter's theories. No change happens anywhere without someone deciding "we have to change NOW." But how do you get complaicent people to change? Kotter's book answers that question and provides examples from his consulting practice. I found this book helpful even for nonprofit organizations. Having worked with countless boards of directors who fear change because of the impact the change could have on their own perception of their status in the community, this book provided good clear answers.
My favorite part of the book was how to deal with the "No Nos," those people who actively and passively try to thwart change of any kind. Kotter provides examples of techniques that work, and those that do not, so that readers can confront these naysayers immediately and repeatedly, so the change agenda does not get derailed.
A worthwhile book.
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