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Leading Change Book Review

Leading Change There are a number of diverse aspects of John Kotter's seminal treatise on leadership, Leading Change. Subsequently, much of the publicity and academic scholarship involving this work of literature have revolved around the eight stages of creating fundamental, lasting changes within an organization. Although Kotter is significantly (and deservingly) renowned within the business world for the creation and configuration of these steps, it would be misleading to regard Leading Change as a mere blueprint for producing change in an organization. The scope of Kotter's work actually exceeds the mere means to organizational transformation, and deals with larger issues of the evolution of management and the accordant role that businesses must play to engender what is an inexorable process that must come about. The strength of Kotter's manuscript, then, is in providing the context and the background information responsible for the facilitation of this process, at the heart of which lies the contrast between conventional methods of management and those pertaining to the 21st century -- which ultimately allows for fostering of leadership.

To that end, the author has dedicated a substantial portion of his manuscript to enumerating the numerous inherent problems that arose with conventional management techniques and strategies, particularly those that presented themselves over and over again towards the close of the 20th century (Leading Change was initially published in 1996). Yet Kotter merely does so to underscore the need for the pronounced change in management strategy that is the very thesis of this work and which unequivocally advocates the production of leadership. The incisiveness of his analysis on this issue is one of the many boons of Leading Change. Contemporary principles of management were preoccupied with maintaining status quo, preserving tradition and essentially doing whatever was needed to maintain an organization's...

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This form of management was supplanted by, or rather evolved into, the millennium management techniques which were not focused on preservation and looking back but on going forward and transformation. The multitude of varying political environments, and innovations in technology, coupled with the tenuous economic climate of the past several years has demanded nothing less of management, if it dedicated to surviving the fluctuating marketplace.
Not surprisingly, the principle focus of Kotter's manuscript reflects the fact that the ultimate expression of the new techniques of management to dominate the 21st century and the final years of the 20th century is to actually foster leadership within an organization. The distinction between leaders and followers has gotten significantly narrower, while the author professes that it behooves organizations to cultivate leadership at virtually all levels to help guide their projected growth. In this respect, Kotter's work is somewhat idealistic and perhaps even a tad bit naive, as he nearly digresses into expressions of an egalitarianism within companies that would nearly rival anything conceived of by Sir Thomas More. However, the point of denoting the values of parity expressed within this part of the manuscript are well taken -- if not perhaps actualized in the daily existence of contemporary companies -- and serve as a goal to strive towards in terms of the results of the new management techniques and their emphasis on leadership that Leading Change presents.

When it comes to denoting the explicit reasons for the transformation in management techniques and organizational focus that Kotter advocates, however, his examples are far from idealistic and all too convincingly real. The fallout of organizations mired in the antiquated way of management has been evinced in numerous instances, as a plethora of examples of downsizing, micromanagement…

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