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
Over the years I have become convinced that we learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us ... Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Stories are powerful tools for teaching and inspiring change, especially in leadership.
In this quote, John P. Kotter emphasizes the importance of storytelling in the process of learning and transformation. He argues that effective leaders harness the narrative to connect with their audience, as stories resonate on a personal level and can drive significant change within organizations. Leaders who overlook the influence of storytelling may jeopardize their success and that of their companies.
Themes
LeadershipStoriesChangeLearningInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting to motivate employees, one might say, 'As John P. Kotter points out, we learn best through stories, which is why I want to share a success story from our last project.'
More from John P. Kotter
All quotes →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.
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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.
John P. KotterRead
Those in leadership positions who fail to grasp or use the power of stories risk failure for their companies and for themselves.
John P. KotterRead
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