Evaluation: 
Conclusion: Best book this year!
Review: This book is one of the best books that I have listened to this year! How do we get more business owners and presidents to take the advice of this book?
Evaluation:
Conclusion: More should read this book
Review: Change means taking people out of their comfort zone. Change is painful. Countless self-help books and score of motivational speakers would tell you to embrace change, and that change is good/what one needs to grow/ [substitute your own here]. May be, but all of that is just sugar coating. The best you can argue is probably that some change is less painful than the others. Some people have trouble changing from having two sugar in their coffee to one. You know it's good for you but it's a pain.
After studying large businesses, John P. Kotter deduced that any major organisational change must followed these 8 steps, and in sequence.
1.Establishing a sense of urgency
2.Build a group with senior management support
3.Developing a vision and strategy
4.Constantly communicate the change vision
5.Empower employee to take action, encourage employee to take calculated risk
6.Generate short-terms wins, celebrate wins to build momentum
7.Use increased credibility to propagate more change throughout the organisation
8.Don't stop. Keep pushing so the change can become a habit.
Kotter wrote that outstanding leaders takes a long term view, decades or even centuries can be meaningful time frames for major change. Some says the book is outdated. New forms of communication, and the Internet have change the way people interact with one another. I still like simplicity of the 8 processes. The problem is getting senior and middle management to buy into it. There are no shortage of company paying lip service to "empowering" employee or think communicating change as a half day training session, one time only. I do, however, believe a decade long change program is unrealistic.
Technical people hate words like vision and strategy. Weasel words like these are too easily regurgitated out when management have no idea. Kotter did a great job changing my perception by telling a story:
Three groups of people looking for a safe resting place during a rain-storm. The first leader gave order to his group to "Get Up and Follow Me, Now!", a few did. The 2nd leader provided detailed instructions for the group - stand up, march in this direction, two feet apart, stop before the tree...etc. In the 3rd group, someone tells the others: "It's going to rain. Why don't we go over there by the tree. We'll stay dry, and have fresh apples for lunch."
A vision serves 3 important purposes: to provide a clear general direction for change; to motivate people to take action in the right direction, even if its mean initial pain; to help align individuals and coordinate the actions of different people in an efficient way.
Evaluation:
Conclusion: John P. Kotter is a superb author and insightful business leader.
Review: BUY THE BOOK! If your organizaiton is failing in its re-organization then read his book. He will describe in infinte deatil the correct steps that your organizational leaders must perform. He provides real life examples of success and failure.
Louis
Evaluation:
Conclusion: School Book
Review: This book is what I needed and I enjoy the book. I received fast service.
Evaluation: 
Conclusion: New to the Organizational Change Management Field? First Steps Below!
Review: This is one of the founding titles in the field of Organizational Change Management. For those who are just entering the field, I recommend reading this book to gain a sense of what the field used to be like in the mid 1990s. It will help you to baseline your current insights and understanding about Organizational Change Management today. The book below is another must read, must understand for those just entering the field. Happy reading!
Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change
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