We are always creating new tools and techniques to help people, but the fundamental framework is remarkably resilient, which means it must have something to do with the nature of organizations or human nature.
John P. KotterRead
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.
Interpretation
Great leaders recognize that past successes can lead organizations to become complacent and resistant to change.
In this quote, John P. Kotter emphasizes the importance of awareness in leadership. He points out that while historical success may create a sense of stability and satisfaction within an organization, it can also foster complacency and a reluctance to innovate or adapt. Effective leaders must remain vigilant and encourage a culture that questions the status quo, ensuring that their organization continues to evolve and thrive in a changing environment.
In practice
In a business meeting discussing future strategies.
We are always creating new tools and techniques to help people, but the fundamental framework is remarkably resilient, which means it must have something to do with the nature of organizations or human nature.
Managers are trained to make incremental, programmatic improvements. They aren't trained to lead large-scale change.
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.
Outsiders have the intuitive ability to continually view problems in fresh ways and to identify ineffective practices and traditions.
Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
Many years ago, I think I got my first insight on how an incredibly diverse team can work together and do astonishing things, and not just misunderstand each other and fight.
Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
A statesman... must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.
A society that respects women needs to elect leaders who care more about women's lives than they do about their or their company's bottom line.
The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.
...the best leaders are servant leaders - they serve those they lead.
All too often, legacy management practices reflexively perpetuate the past - by over-weighting the views of long-tenured executives, by valuing conformance more highly than creativity and by turning tired industry nostrums into sacred truths.
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