Great leaders understand that historical success tends to produce stable and inwardly focused organizations, and these outfits, in turn, reinforce a feeling of contentment with the status quo.
John P. KotterRead
Overcoming complacency is crucial at the start of any change process, and it often requires a little bit of surprise, something that grabs attention at more than an intellectual level. You need to surprise people with something that disturbs their view that everything is perfect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Overcoming complacency is essential for initiating change, often needing an unexpected element to shift perspectives.
This quote emphasizes that recognizing and overcoming complacency is vital at the onset of any change initiative. It suggests that simply understanding the need for change is not enough; there must be a surprising element that disrupts the status quo and challenges people's belief that everything is fine, thereby motivating them to embrace the necessary transformation.
Themes
ChangeComplacencySurpriseTransformationMotivation
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting where we are discussing new strategies, I might quote this to inspire colleagues to reconsider their comfort zones.
More from John P. Kotter
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Managers are trained to make incremental, programmatic improvements. They aren't trained to lead large-scale change.
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Because management deals mostly with the status quo and leadership deals mostly with change, in the next century we are going to have to try to become much more skilled at creating leaders.
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Outsiders have the intuitive ability to continually view problems in fresh ways and to identify ineffective practices and traditions.
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Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
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