• The Heart of Change

  • Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations
  • By: John P. Kotter, Dan S. Cohen
  • Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
  • Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (215 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Heart of Change  By  cover art

The Heart of Change

By: John P. Kotter,Dan S. Cohen
Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

John Kotter's international best seller Leading Change struck a powerful chord with legions of managers everywhere. It acknowledged the cynicism, pain, and fear they faced in implementing large-scale change - but also armed them with an eight-step plan of action for leaping boldly forward in a turbulent world.

Now, Kotter and co-author Dan S. Cohen delve deeper into the subject of change to get to the heart of how change actually happens. Through compelling, real-life stories from people in the trenches, in all kinds of organizations, the authors attack the fundamental problem that underlies every major transformation: How do you go beyond simply getting your message across to truly changing people's behavior?

Based on interviews within over 100 organizations in the midst of large-scale change, The Heart of Change delivers the simple yet provocative answer to this question, forever altering the way organizations and individuals approach change. While most companies believe change happens by making people think differently, Kotter and Cohen say the key lies in making them feel differently. They introduce a new dynamic - "see-feel-change" - that fuels action by showing people potent reasons for change that spark their emotions.

Organized around the revolutionary eight-step change process introduced in Leading Change, this story-driven book shows how the best change leaders use not just reports or analysis, but gloves, video cameras, airplanes, office design, and other concrete elements to impel people toward positive action. The authors reveal how this appeal to the heart - over the mind - motivates people to overcome even daunting obstacles to change and produce breathtaking results.

For individuals in every walk of life and companies in every stage of change, this compact, no-nonsense book captures the heart - and the how - of successful change.

©2002 John P. Kotter and Deliotte Consulting LLC (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Kotter and Cohen demonstrate the critical difference that focus, faith, leadership, commitment and creativity make in winning employees' hearts, offering good stories that truly apply to each topic." ( Publishers Weekly)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Heart of Change

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    94
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    31
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    68
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    64
  • 4 Stars
    51
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Shame about the narration

I was really looking forward to hearing Kotter's latest offering and was not disappointed. The first hand case studies were illuminating and inspiring, it's a shame therefore that different voices were not employed in telling them. I found the use of only one narrator spoilt the impact of the content, I found myself nodding off now and then and/or having to rewind to ensure the point being made stayed with me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • CR
  • 01-15-16

Narration is really not that bad; content is good

This book lays out Kotter's 8-step change process; (paraphrased)
1) Create a Sense of Urgency
2) Build a Strong Core Team
3) Create a Vision
4) Communicate the Vision / Get Buy-In
5) Enable / Empower / Remove Obstacles
6) Create Short-Term Wins
7) Sustain the Effort / Don't Declare Victory Too Soon
8) Make the Change Part of the Culture to Make it Stick

He leverages some pretty helpful real-life stories to illustrate effective versus ineffective change management. The stories are fairly memorable and still effective in making the point despite being a little dated at this point.

The narration is fine. I guess many reviewers think it should be read more like a story with different voices, but as a business text that was relating stories (not trying to immerse the reader in a fantasy world like a business fable), I didn't find the narration off putting at all.

Overall, I recommend the book if you are in a leadership position. The advice is simple and solid. Of course it's not adhered to nearly enough, even when you know that you SHOULD follow this guidance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great “visualization” on getting people onboard

Not everyone reacts equally to facts and figures - this book gives a guideline on how to get people onboard with their feelings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Insightful

An in depth look into the human side of organisational change using real life stories to support the narrative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Great piece of work but unfortunate narration

This is a great piece of work with breakthrough ideas. However, unabridged narration does not encourages listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good and to the point

A good book that will help you understand how to affect change in an organization. For class I had to read this book and it did a very good job of breaking down all the stages of creating change. It is a good book for any manager to read. It will help you understand how things work or dont work.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sections Missing

Any additional comments?

The audible book seems to be missing sections, there are quite a few instances where the sentence is cut off and a brand new one with a different topic starts. I am not sure what happened in the editing process.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great

really enjoyed the thorough insight and looking forward to learn more about the authors works

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

interesting book

As a manager, it shows and remind me another perspective of the organization. I enjoyed it as it is accompanied by the book. worth reading it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Leaders.

Narration was good. It's amazing as to how much sounds like common sense however so many leaders get it wrong.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!