Leading Change

By: John P. Kotter

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

John Kotter, the world's foremost expert on business leadership, distills twenty-five years of experience into Leading Change. A must-have for any organization, this visionary and very personal audiobook is at once inspiring, clear-headed, and filled with important implications for the future.

The pressures on organizations to change will only increase over the next decades. Yet the methods managers have used to strengthen their companies—total quality management, reengineering, right sizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnarounds—routinely fall short. In Leading Change, Kotter identifies an eight-step process that every company must go through to achieve its goal, and shows where and how people—good people—often derail. Emphasizing again and again the critical need for leadership to make change happen, Leading Change provides unprecedented access to our generation's business master and a positive role model for leaders to emulate.

©1996 John P. Kotter (P)2007 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Oliver Wyman's ingenuous delivery style works perfectly for one of the best business-strategy audios of the year.... his connection with the material is seamless. Along with having one of the most appealing voices in this genre, he's adept at segmenting complex sentences into digestible phrases.” —AudioFile, Earphones Award Winner

“An outstanding book that addresses the needs of organizations and inviduals in today's rapidly changing business environment.” —Ernest I. Glickman, CEO, Harbridge House, Division of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.

“Very interesting and relevant, full of practical advice of immediate use.” —Richard Deverell, Head of Strategy and Planning, BBC news

Priyanga (Speaker|Trainer|Leadership Coach|Change Consultant)

Great book on people aspect of change management. Lot of gems here. Must read for any leader

Okay book

I am reading this book as part of a management course along with several others. There are some good principles laid out throughout the book but it’s also full of a lot of fluff. You probably could have gotten the same amount of information across in much less time.

Easy Listen

this was a hard book to turn off. the narrator had a warm, pleasant, and engaging tone an meter. the story was laid out in a practical and easy to follow blueprint for making change. a must read for anyone who wants to bring change to their organisation, department, or work group.

An oldie but a goodie - and works well on audio

I'd read the hard copy of this several times and wanted to refamiliarise myself with the content before working with a client interstate. I listened to the audiobook on the 13-hour drive to the event and found it clear, engaging and easy to recall (although can't say if that would have been the case if I hadn't already been familiar with the material).
This remains for me one of the benchmark texts on organisational change and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in that area.

Timeless ideas

25 year old ideas still very relevant today. You can see the roots of today's thinking.

Great Oldy that is still relevant today

Great book that affirmed a lot of behaviour regarding Change Management.

Relevant for longer running traditional companies steeped in the old ways of running business.

Would be interested in an update to this book that covers change in todays lean agile company types.

Still a classic by the father of Change Management

Great for execs, not so much for ICs

There is a heavy focus in the book on cultural changes and behavioral modifications that are typically controlled at the executive level. For readers that don't have executive authority but still need to manage or influence change, the guidance in the book is hard to apply. Perhaps there is no secret sauce other than top down support. I was hoping to glean more useful tidbits out of this for people having less power.

Empowering people.

Empowering people who have potential to grow and want to learn more. Continue to learn at any age.

Great reminder on change

What a great reminder on the essence of change. I refer to this book often.

great road map for transformational change

clear and concise with practical steps to ensure transformational change sticks and delivers results. a great read for all leaders.