A Comprehensive Guide to Kotter’s 8 Step Model of Change

John Kotter (1996), a Harvard Business School Professor and a renowned change expert, in his book “Leading Change”, introduced 8 Step Model of Change which he developed on the basis of research of 100 organizations which were going through a process of change.

Kotter suggests that for change to be successful, 75% of the practice team needs to “buy into” the change. In other words, you have to really work hard on Step One, and spend significant time and energy building urgency, before moving onto the next steps. Don’t panic and jump in too fast because you don’t want to risk further short-term losses — if you act without proper preparation, you could be in for a very bumpy ride.

Kotter’s 8 step model can be explained with the help of the illustration given below:

1. Create a sense of urgency
2. Build guiding coalition
3. Form strategic vision initiatives
4. Enlist volunteer army
5. Enable action by removing barriers
6. Generate short-term wins
7. Sustain acceleration
8. Institute change

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Summary

Kotter argues that 70% of change initiatives fail, and attributes this to the fact that most organizations do not put in the necessary preparation or see the project through correctly. He outlines the 8 steps change model is to emphasize that change is not a simple and quick process. Business change should be made carefully, as it is a huge investment and it costs a lot.

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